Over the years I have made a radical shift from telling jokes to telling stories. If I say, “I have a joke for you,” your attention will be focused on the ending, since that is where the weight of a joke is. The ending is where the challenge is for the joke-teller, “Did I end it right with a strong punch-line?”

However, if someone says, “I have a story for you,” you begin listening immediately so you will not miss a single detail of the story, because we all love a story. I may say the same thing after promising to tell you a story that I would if I was telling you a joke, but your invitation comes much earlier—at the beginning of the story rather than at the end of the joke.

Timing and Imaging are essential for telling a funny story or a good joke. Imaging is creating word-pictures that are complete enough for others to see the pictures and locate themselves in them. This is relatively easy to achieve. Not so with timing.

Timing is the use of pauses that unfolds the story. Images are strung together with appropriate pauses between them. Strategic pauses also allow the hearer to anticipate what is coming. Such anticipation is golden in telling a story, and often prompts laughter because of what is anticipated.

Here is a story featuring Timing. It is easy to remember and fun to tell.

The Senior Couple

The Senior Couple had great apprehension about making their first flight. They had a white-knuckle take-off and sat very still so they wouldn’t tilt the plane.
A young mother took two children to the toilet—one was about three and the other was eight or nine. The older boy went into a toilet by himself, but couldn’t get the door to shut all the way. Both tried. His mother said it would be okay, then she took the other boy into the toilet with her.
Because one finished quicker than two, he returned to his seat. The older man decided he would be next. He quickly gave up on closing the door and had to leave it cracked open. (pause)

When the other two finished, the mother tapped on the door and said, “Don’t forget to zip up your pants.”
(pause)
When the man sat down, he patted his wife on her hand to comfort her, “Mildred, we don’t have anything to worry about. These airplane waitresses think of everything!”

Do you know a “funny” you have never told anyone? Since we are going out “shopping” again this week, take it off the shelf and practice rehearsing it in front of a mirror, if you need to, in order to get ready to tell it. Then, set yourself a goal of how many times you will tell it today. Spend time before the end of this final shopping day getting it ready to “show.” THEN, SHOW IT WHILE YOU ARE OUT AND ABOUT!

Look over your notes for the week: what kind of week did you have? Are you pleased with your response to the prompts? Did you have fun? Write down one thing you learned about humor and one thing you learned about yourself. (Put the note on your mirror for a few days.)

Can you visualize my EVENT? There was this guy with a huge tattoo of an eagle in flight on his back. The wing span went shoulder to shoulder, wing tip to wing tip —as if we were looking down from above. The eagle’s neck was depicted running up his neck with it’s beak just under his hair line. He had on a tee shirt with the sleeves cut away. I could see only the tips of the wings—but it was obvious that the entire eagle was depicted under his shirt.

Something struck me as odd: Why have a colorful tat of an elaborate picture at a place where he could never see it? PEOPLE ARE FUNNY! (Even if they are imaginary!)

Now that this not-so-typical week has ended, what will you carry away with you? How about “the range of practices” in this week that you can call to consciousness anytime you choose. When recalled, they will help shape a humorous disposition within you. Let these actions become prompts that help you focus on humor—and on being a humorous person. To be the humorous person you want to be requires attention and effort. (This week could provide you a good start at specializing in humor along with your shopping.) Talk about a bargain! ! !

Original humor is what you create on your own, spontaneously—on-the-go—and on the spot! Creating original humor, being quick witted, saying clever things, speaking “wisdom in the moment,” and being the life of the party are special privileges that come to persons who are freed up; genuine in spirit; and generous in benevolence. One can never be creatively humorous when mean-spirited, angry, or vindictive.

My friend Lester was as good at original or natural humor as anyone I have ever known. He possessed all of the credentials listed above and they made him a pro in his use of spontaneous humor.

“Danny, did you hear about that plane that had part of the roof blow off over Hawaii this morning? It sucked a woman right out of the plane.”

“Lester, I fly almost every week. I don’t want to hear about someone being sucked out of a plane.”

“You’ll be Okay! Just sit on the other side!”

Later that day a woman drove by us a couple of times looking for a parking space. The second time, she stopped and impatiently said, “When I lived in Texas I never had trouble finding parking spaces like I do in Tennessee.”

Lester said, “Well, don’t forget, Texas is lots bigger than Tennessee!”

You’ve gotta be laid back, relaxed, in touch with yourself, empty of guile, fun-loving, and generous, in order to feel it, to see it, and to say it like that! You’ve gotta want to be the kind of person who is looking for a turn of words, a funny situation, an imaginary happening, or something out of the ordinary that made you laugh.

“Made you laugh” is the important part! When you are creating spontaneous or original humor, you are the judge of its value, because the humor is really for you! You become a humorous person because of what you see and hear. So do not be concerned about whether you are humorous to other people—unless you want to become a stand-up comic.

When you are able to relax with your own humor created for yourself, you will have something worth sharing with others!

Look, listen, and think back across the past few days for any spontaneous humor that you experienced, and share it this week with someone you know. Submit it to the Hothouse where you incubate and nourish Seeds of Humor!

It can be very helpful to have a special “humor bud” with whom you can share your stories.

My friend Charles told me about the parish priest who called the sanitation department to pick up a jackass that died in his front yard. The guy said he would be right over.

Then he asked the priest if he had administered “Last Rites” to the jackass—and he broke out in laughter—big time!

When his laughter ended the priest said, “For ‘Last Rites’ we always contact the next of kin. Since you are coming, it will not be necessary to call anyone else!”