Lesson 9: A Sense Of Humor Can Get You Pass The Hard Times

"Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that." George Carlin
" I went to Zimbabwe. I know how white people feel in America now; relaxed! Cause when I heard the police car I knew they weren't coming after me! " Richard Pryor

Listen up. The kids are getting to that age where you don't what they're doing. And in some cases, they've left the nest, and, instead of doing some of the fun things you planned like traveling, you've had to work a little longer, affirming your notion that retirement is not what it used to be.

Maybe you've put the relationship with your former slug, ahh, boyfriend or partner behind you and are now engaged in dating again, a dance fraught with marks and holes on the floor that make you trip at any moment.

In such cases, it may be important for you to keep the one thing you've always had: the ability to laugh at situations, others, and yourself. Yes, now more than ever, it's healthy to keep a sense of humor.

2

Check this. Everything was going alright for the daddy. He was studying for an exam to get his license as a drug counselor. The daddy had been a drug counselor before, but the state of Minnesota told drug counseling agencies that all counselors had to have certification or the agency could lose its license. So the daddy was ready for the exam and was going to take it the next day; and he had stayed up all night studying to make sure he passed. Then tragedy struck.

The daddy got sharp pains on the left side of his stomach, pains so severe that, instead of driving to the location where his exam was being taken, he went to the emergency ward of a hospital. And like a bartender courting an alcoholic's habit, they gave it to him straight/no chaser: he had an intestinal blockage and, if he wanted to live, needed to have an operation the next day.

The daddy knew that getting an operation the next day was the right thing. But did this dampen his fear of hospitals and knives cutting into his body? Of course not. Let's face it: the daddy was scared as hell!

3

Luckily, by some weird, unplanned twist of fate, the daddy began to develop a sense of humor about it all. Now, here's the funny part. The daddy, a long- time counselor, was used to telling everyone things to help them feel better during a crisis situation. But when it came to his own health crisis, he couldn't think of a damn thing. Jesus, even that sorry president George Bush could think of something to say during one of his rare press conferences like " The presidency is hard work" or "No new taxes or "Mission accomplished," even if nothing was accomplished. Suddenly, I began to smile at the irony that, when the table was turned on the daddy and he became the client or the patient, he couldn't help himself. I began to smile and then laugh out- loud, as the nurse took me up an elevator, through dark-lit halls and finally to the station, where I would be prepped for surgery.

When we arrived at the u- shaped station, a nurse said:
"Mr. Walton?"

The daddy was laughing.

" Mr. Walton?"

The daddy was now laughing so hard that he caused the pain in his left side to hurt even more.

"Mr. Walton, are you alright?"

"No," I said. "But I will be. I will be."

4

In my hospital room at the prepping station, the daddy continued to have a sense of humor. When the all-business nurse showed up, the daddy kept it going (her hair was in a bun and her shoes made her look like she was going bowling). When she pulled out a big bottle of white liquid to clean my system, I told her it was a bottle of my favorite chardonnay. The daddy said we weren't in a hospital but an upscale bar in downtown Minneapolis, sipping wine and listening to classic jazz by a trio, hearing a beautiful woman in front of the group sing, "Summertime/and the living is easy/fish are jumping/and the cotton is high..."

"I see, Mr. Walton. You must be a writer or something. But we're getting you ready for an operation. You must follow my instructions. Do you understand?"

"So I guess our date at that upscale bar in downtown Minneapolis will have to wait."

"Evidently, Mr. Walton."

It was the end of her shift, but, before leaving, the nurse dropped in to say goodbye. Her hair down , wearing stylish boots and tight-fitting pants and low-neck sweater, wearing tight pants, she looked like a real human being.

"How are you doing, Mr. Walton . How's the chardonnay going?" Wow. A human being with a sense of humor!

And then with a gentle hand on my shoulder, she said words the words that clearly let me know she understood:

"Mr. Walton, the operation will be fine. They'll bring you back here, and I'll be your nurse tomorrow. Try to get some rest."

5

If a sense of humor can help an average Joe like the daddy, surely it can help destroy the demons in your life. Nothing is easy, but the daddy says a sense of humor can help you get through the hard times.

Have you ever used a sense of humor to get you through a crisis?