Day 321
4/2/23
Humor can be rather nebulous at best. I attempted to define and pinpoint the concept, but found it to be rather tricky and elusive.
I did come to the conclusion that my Goldens do not seem to possess this attribute in any way, shape or form. I have had these magnificent beasts in my life for almost 20 years and have never witnessed a glimmer of laughter or snicker.
When I began to analyze my own humor, it brought back a few illustrative moments. I believe I have a pretty decent sense of humor and appreciate jokes, funny situations and humorous stories. I tend to surround myself with individuals who have a good sense of humor because it tends to go hand-in-hand with happy people.
There have been times in my life, however, when my sense of humor has gotten out of control. For example, back in my early years of teaching, our first-grade team had a talent show. The students all gathered together (over 100 and counting) and the show began. There were certainly some talented dancers, artists and musicians that were brave enough to face their peers and share their talents without reservation. However, near the end of the show, there was one student who chose to play the recorder for the assembled group. He walked to the front and, with theatrical aplomb, constructed his music stand where he placed the music (it fell to the floor three or four times). This preparation took about five minutes and then he had to get the recorder just right in his hands...another minute or two. By this time, the four teachers were getting a bit nervous. Never fear, he placed the recorder up to his mouth and began to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb." This presented itself with only extremely loud squeaks and whistles. The adults in the room looked at each other and, one after another, began to get the giggles. I had the grace to pretend to have a coughing jag and made my exit. Two other teachers followed suit and we stood laughing in the hallway until tears flowed down our cheeks. The last teacher (obviously the most professional one in our group) finally opened the door and told us it was over, so we reentered the room in control of our laughter. Thankfully, the students never figured it out!
As much as I like humor, laughing and funny stories, I guess it often is accompanied by someone or something being the brunt of the joke. With Goldens, and any other canine out there, it would never occur to their hearts to be anything but loving and understanding. Once again, I want to be more like my Goldens. I will try to keep that in mind the next time I get the giggles.
