Isn't it funny how everyone thinks they're funny? Honestly, have you ever met anyone who openly admits he or she isn't funny? In real life, though, some people are better at some things than others; no one is good at everything, and no single thing is done well by everyone. Therefore, it stands to reason that some people are mis-guided or delusional if they believe they're funny.
In the 1982 film "my Favourite Year," Peter O'Toole plays an aging movie star named Alan Swan opposite Mark Linn-Baker's Benji Stone; Stone has been assigned to keep Swan sober enough to perform on television. In one scene, the young Stone asks the aged and experienced Swan: "Do you think there are funny people and not-funny people?" To which Swan replies "Yes. Definitely. On the funny side there are the Marx Brothers, except Zeppo; the Ritz Brothers, no exceptions; both Laurel *and* Hardy; and Woody Woodpecker. On the unfunny side there's anyone who has ever played the accordion professionally."
Personally, I agree with Mr. Swan, on all accounts, and have an anecdote I'd like to share here to illustrate that exact point.
Back home, there's a local pasta company owned by two brothers, called "P&S Ravioli." The "P" stands for Primo, and the "S" stands for Segundo - that means "first" and "second" in Italian. Those are their names - Primo is the oldest; Segundo is second oldest. There are 8 siblings all together, and they are named ordinally.
We have two young sons, so for the sake of this blog post, and out of "rispetto" for P&S Ravioli, let's refer to our oldest as Primo, and our youngest as Segundo.
Our Primo is a beautiful child with a warm, gentle soul and a great sense of humor. My love for this child is boundless, yet he's about as funny as a technical manual. He tries. Honestly. He does. He laughs all the time, acts silly, and tries to relate funny stories, but in the end, the only person he cracks up is himself. He has a lot of other talents, but I'm afraid he's destined to be a professional accordion player.
Segundo is a different story, entirely. He inspires laughter with a look, or gesture. When he tries to be funny, he is, and even when he's not trying, he's still funny. Allow me to expound.
One morning before work, I was standing at the kitchen island, deciding whether or not to go back to bed, and Segundo, already dressed for kindergarten, walked into the kitchen with a stuffed penguin in one hand and a plastic Whack-a-Mole mallet in the other. See? You're probably already smiling. Anyway, he held the penguin up and said "Daddy, watch this." He then proceeded to knock the penguin up-side its head with the mallet, and the stuffed critter flew across the room.
I asked Segundo why he did that, and he replied that he was the penguin's chiropractor. I suggested that even the most inept chiropractor in the world probably wouldn't slam his patient in the head with a mallet, and Segundo replied that this was a special case, because "this penguin has (insert moment while he visibly searched his mind for the right word) ... TESTICLE difficulties."
My wife immediately left the room for fear he'd see her laughing, so I was left alone to fight back the guffaw and explain that the proper term was "TECHNICAL" difficulties. "Technical," not "testicle" ... big difference. Then I put my head down so he wouldn't see me convulsively containing my laughter.
This kid does this all the time. He's a natural, and is the embodiment of the difference between people with a good sense of humor, and people who are genuinely funny.
Steve Martin is one of those naturally funny people, and 30+ years ago, he said, when people asked him how he can be so f'ing funny, he'd reply that he'd take a slice of bologna and put it in each shoe, and then he'd just FEEL funny. Well, if that's what it takes, I'm afraid a lot of people are going to need to take a number at the deli counter, or they'll need to schedule accordion lessons.I believe O'Toole said it best as Swan: "Dying is easy. Comedy is hard."
Nice. We have the same dynamic with 2 and 3.
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