We don't own emotion, we rent

2003-05-30 - 11:04 a.m.

It occurred to me as I was on rounds today that I seem to have lost my funny bone. When I was a kid and I banged my elbow on something, I would laugh uncontrollably. I understood perfectly how the funny bone got it's name, although I still don't understand why that happens. But recently if I hit my elbow on something it just hurts--nothing funny about it. Why is that?

Speaking of things which may or may not be funny, don't you hate it when you run across someone who seems to have no sense of humor? You need a sense of humor to survive in this world. OK, I'm going to relate a story which will show you how dense I can be, but there is a point to this, I think. The first time I saw the movie "True Lies," I didn't realize it was a comedy. I sat through the whole thing and couldn't believe how horribly stupid it was. I absolutely hated it. Years later I watched it again, only this time I understood that it was comedy. It wasn't horrible or stupid. In fact, it was pretty darn funny and turned out to be a good movie. Why didn't I see the humor in it the first time? I have no idea. I do have a fairly decent, if odd, sense of humor. But I learned a lesson from that. Sometimes, when things seem horrible and/or stupid, before you condemn them, try taking a step back and looking again. Maybe it's not horrible or stupid. Maybe it's funny.