Katie & Scott & Simon & Cecily.

Tag: humor

Day 224: katie told a football joke tonight

Before watching Shaq Vs. Ben Roethlisberger in all its majesty, our group was channel surfing and some episode of some show was on.  A foolish man had thrown an engagement ring into the front yard in either a fit of rage or an engagement ploy.

The conversation went as follows:

“That was stupid.  Why did he throw that ring into the yard?”

“Ben Roethlisberger would never have thrown the ring into the yard.”

Katie: “No, because he would have been sacked before he had the chance!”

And…there was no reaction.  Because my wife was the person with the most football knowledge in the room (beside, perhaps, me)!  There were three other men in the room!  It was a wonderful moment for me.  I’ve changed her!  Into a true Steelers fan!  Her jab at Ben was, of course, in jest.  He only gets sacked when he’s playing football.

Shaq Vs.?  Both irritatingly stupid and somehow brilliant.  Oh, and SPOILER, Shaq loses.  Both in football and basketball.  And life.  He won at being tall, though.

In one play, he came onto the field from the sidelines to intercept a pass.  WHO DOES THAT BESIDES CHILDREN WHO DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW THINGS IN LIFE WORK??  Shaq does that.  That’s who.

Day 69: giggle

Why is that I still find childish things so funny?  Does it have, like Klondike bars and Boy Meets World, have to do with remembering what it felt like to giggle at these things the first time around?

Or is the number 69 just always going to be inherently funny because of its sexual innuendo?  Who doesn’t think that farts in mixed company are hilarious?  Unintentional burps in quiet settings, especially places like churches or libraries?  Stupid puns regarding anatomy?  “That’s what she said!”?

I think there’s more to this than just reflections on the innocence of being a child.  I think we find this stuff humorous because it’s a good reminder that we’re all human.  No matter how hard we try to differentiate our senses of humor, there’s something in the base nature of these that still speaks to all of us.

We are raised in a culture where we’re told that crude jokes and bodily outbursts are inappropriate.  But we’re all creatures bred to have sexual desires and we all burp and fart when born.  I think the fact that we all giggle at these seemingly small indiscretions speaks to a quiet, internal, broad revolt against the strict societal standards that we’ve all had to grow up with.

In China, burping is perfectly acceptable when a meal is over, and I’ve heard my grandmother do it many times over the course of a half hour.  I find this hilarious.  Having lived in China their entire lives, most of my extended family does not.  It’s a pity, really.  In exchange for the refreshing freedom of being able to burp after eating with no chance of societal scorn, they’ve lost the shared furtive giggles and knowing looks between friends.

Because here, when someone burps or farts or says something that could be taken as an unintentional sexual statement, we all share a moment.  A moment that says: this is who we are.  And our parents and religious teachings and government agencies and stuffy co-workers may try to cover it up and give it the evil eye, but there’s no escaping it.

We are a nation of burpers and farters and That’s-What-She-Said-ers.  And we should be proud.

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