How To Be Funny

(funny girl)

I spend a lot of time trying to be funny. I try to make my blogs funny. I am trying to launch a new career writing funny greeting cards, which is much harder than it looks. And in my spare time, I try to get a giggle or two out of my grandbaby.

When I was growing up, my sisters and I thought we were pretty funny. Especially our Indian jokes. (warning: politically incorrect topic ahead)

In Connecticut, a lot of the streets and towns have Native American names. So we would take those names and try to make jokes out of them. When one of us came up with a joke, we would all howl with laughter, clutch our stomachs and repeat it over and over. Other people (like our parents for example) who clearly had no sense of humor would stare at us wide-eyed and then walk away.

Ok, so here is one of our jokes, based on the name of our street (Mohegan Avenue) ...

There was an Indian named Mo. His friends couldn't find him one day, so one friend said to the other, "Where's Mo?" and the other friend said, "Mo? He gone."

... I will pause for a minute while you howl with laughter and clutch your stomach. Let me know if you want me to repeat the joke 6 or 7 more times ...

What's that? You're good? Your eyes are wide and you're about to walk away?

Before you go, let me share the One True Secret Of Funny-ness. I learned this from my 2-year-old granddaughter:

Stick out your tongue, and talk at the same time.

I know - pretty simple, right? Now, don't expect your grown-up friends to laugh. But try it with a 2-year-old. Trust me. It works every time.

~~~