January 14, 2008

1. The Reader’s Digest published an issue on humor a while ago. I had to agree with a lot about the differences between men’s humor and women’s. It explained why my husband says, “you don’t have a sense of humor,” and why I reply, “you have the sense of humor of a 13 year-old-boy.” They pretty much used our words verbatim. I am not sure it is anything I can apply to life, but at least I know that I am not alone, and that I do have a sense of humor.
2. I especially could relate to the part where they discussed what men and women call their friends. The article, which I no longer have (so this is paraphrased from memory), uses for example four guys meeting for lunch who call each other Fatboy, Red, Matter-o-Fact, and Schmidt Head. The four women called each other Helen, Meg, Annie and Jennifer. Husband calls both of his good friends nicknames, and not really nice ones. They have nicknames for him as well, and ones he deserves. I call all of my friends by their names, or a shortened form of that.
3. Unfortunately the movie thing threw me a loop. I personally own two of the movies that were supposed to be men’s humor and none of those that were presumably for women. “Blazing Saddles” was my all time favorite movie to watch when I stayed home sick from work. I bought “Fletch” recently, and I still laugh all the way though it. I don’t believe it was on the list, which is a travesty, but surely it would have been on the men’s list.  We watched a Chevy Chase marathon while I was in labor with Lydia, he just slays me.  I saw Annie Hall (listed in the women’s favorites) sometime in the last 24 months, and I don’t remember even thinking it was funny. Maybe it was because I don’t have much in common with the world of Jewish New Yorkers.
4. My Step dad, Bill, is hilarious. We play a board game called Balderdash. You and your friends have to make up fake definitions for words you probably haven’t heard of, then you get to guess which one is the real definition. My definition for the word “squallop” was something about a brief but violent storm at sea. Someone else came up with a shell fish. Bill’s response was, “An Indian maid with loose morals.” Last night he came up with a definition for “snurp.” My first thought was something to do with Smurfs, but I made up something lame about shoe tread. Bill came up with, “when a person with a cleft palate drinks from a glass.” Please understand my step dad is not someone who would make anyone feel uncomfortable, and he is not prejudiced, or mean spirited in any way, and most of his ideas don’t have anything derogatory in them, it just happens that the two funniest I remember do. (I used to work for Uncle Sam, so I feel the need to put a disclaimer so as not to offend anyone.)
5. Before she started pre-school last year, I taught Lydia a couple of jokes. The teacher tracked me down and told me she had never heard a funny joke from a student before, or even one that made sense. So why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide.