Show Me the Funny

While listening to a recent podcast of Conan O’Brien, the discussion revolved around how musicians secretly want to be comedians and comedians want to be big-time rock stars. Songwriters seem to be serious thinking people, always taking on serious topics, bringing out heavy emotions through melody and various elements of the music. It would absolutely make sense that musicians would want to think of and say funny things like those associated with a comedian.  

Sometimes feeling like I’m (Gerry) more of a serious thinking type, makes me want to seek out more humor. These days humor is typically sought through the internet, or various outlets on TV. Because it is so easily accessible, I tend not to overtly search for it.

On a recent move, and downsizing, I found myself sorting through old humor books that had been packed away for a long time. The covers and titles, alone, brought a smile to my face and stoked a slew of memories of when these books were ever present in my life, and their humor ingrained in my everyday thoughts. I realized there are never any humor books in my book bin, next to my bed, and it is fine time that changes.

My collection was dominated by The Far Side comics of which I had multiple titles, David Letterman’s Top Ten Lists, Bizarro, The Onion, Calvin and Hobbes, and Doonesbury. This was like discovering lost treasures buried right beneath my nose for several years. It’s time to blow the dust off the covers and let them have their rebirth.

Recently, I saw where Jerry Seinfeld released a collection of every joke he’d ever written, and it is called “Is this Anything?” I decided to make the purchase and it has been very worthwhile. Two of his books, “SeinLanguage” and “Letters to a Nut” were already part of my collection. Paging through his new book, and reading at random, forty-some years of his comedy material, has been a most pleasurable experience.

Quick-fix styles of presenting humor, whether it is YouTube, watching funny cat videos, or everyday funny memes on social media, all have their place. There is nothing like sitting down to a good book of collected humor from one of the greats in the industry, whether it is Jerry Seinfeld, Conan O’Brien, David Letterman, or a host of others who’ve molded my comedic sensibilities. I must admit, I truly enjoy and value this most recent experience.