“The human race has only one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.” Mark Twain
Excerpt from The Beds We Live and Die In (a memoir in progress)
During the hour and a half eighty-mile ride to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Sleepy Hollow location, we listened to Howard Stern. “Terrestrial radio is dead!” he declared. It was the summer of 2010, and the Mel Gibson tapes had just come out. He verbally assaulted Oksana Grigorieva, his former girlfriend and mother of their (at the time) eight-month old daughter. Over the phone he ranted, screamed, threatened, and someone released the tapes to the press. Mel Gibson going crazy over the phone kept Kent smiling for the ride. Howard couldn’t get enough of the story and neither could we. It’s the perfect example of laughing at the jokes but not the situation. Mel Gibson threatening a woman is not funny. Howard Stern making fun of Mel Gibson ranting and raving is funny. Howard would play excerpts of the tape and then laugh about them. He said, “This is his best [role] ever.” I would think Kent was sleeping, and I’d look over at him wrapped up in a Mexican blanket with his eyes closed but he was smiling. Howard could always make Kent laugh. Hey now, Howard. Thank you.
I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death. –Robert Fulghum
Laughing is healthy. As difficult as it is sometimes, we must let ourselves laugh. How can we not?