There's a "humor" section in the Forum General Entertainment but I think, along with discussing our troubles - bigotry, passing, depression and suicide - we need a post in our TS section, every now and then, that can make TS's smile, lift our spirits. I'm asking YOU to tell us what distracts you from stress. What makes you laugh rather than cry?
It's no medical secret that HUMOR has saved many a life, no matter what the affliction. In the 90's, a UCLA doctor who was fighting cancer documented how, in his case, watching "Laurel and Hardy" movies made him forget his troubles and, along with diet and medicine, made him healthier. Conversely, science has proven how churning stress over and over again can shorten lives. As TS's transition, psychologists ask us to "consider, consider." Self-analyzing can be good but it can also be like the caterpillar who's asked, "How do you make all those legs go at the right time?"
Tension can be tolerable for awhile but Alfred Hitchcock, master filmmaker, knew it was better to mix humor in now and then. If you're tense all of the time all you do is get numb. Better to smile, to feel endorphins kick in, to LIVE.
Slapstick humor can be an oddity -- somehow, seeing others slip and fall or get a pie in the face can instinctively bring a smile - human nature, I guess. Maybe that's why seemingly woesome tales of stars like Britney or Paris can take the sting out of more serious news like terrorism.
The things that make me laugh are often jabs at society's bigotry. One example: "I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be you Hindu, Muslim, or Jewish. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior." -- Stephen Colbert.
Other times, I love slapstick with an edge... There's a scene in a movie where Charlie Chaplin's tramp looks lovingly into the window of a young woman. As he stares, his heart full of passion; she seems soooo incredibly beautiful! But because she's blind, she doesn't realize he's there and, unexpectedly, she casually tosses a bucket of water out the window -- the water hits him HARD in the face! We are as shocked as the tramp but, like the pie in the face, we can't help but laugh. Yeah, love can be like that!
I profess to enjoying what many consider the "lowest form of humor, the pun." One of my favorite jokes is one I made up myself: Why don't you ever see any rich cheetahs? Because cheetahs never prosper!
Another time, a friend was trying to come up with a name for a Brazilian-fare restaurant. I suggested: "The Grill From Ipanema."
When I was a teenager, my family went camping at Crater Lake, Oregon. One night, a bear entered our campsite and my family became very fearful. My father, acting as the stereotype "protector," exited our tent. As he banged a pan with a spoon, he tripped -- right in front of the bear! The bear looked at him as if to say, "Boy, you ARE ridiculous!" The bear turned and walked away in disgust. And we packed our tent and spent the night in the car, laughing with our brave father. The memory still brings me a smile.
What makes you laugh? For brevity's sake, please skip You Tube, Quick Time movies or visual cartoons that many, including me, have trouble loading into our computers. What's your favorite joke, scene from a movie or life? What makes you "forget your troubles, come on get happy!"
Teri Anne
