Funny Girl

When I think about my childhood, I remember lots of laughter, but I have difficulty pointing to anyone in the family who was the class clown. We just sort of laughed at life. My Uncle Joe could tell a joke, as could my Aunt Betty, and my mom is an extraordinary comic storyteller. My guess is that they inherited that from their father. Paw-Paw had a serious knack for saying incredibly funny things out of the blue. His argument against increasing their tithe at church was “Jesus Saves,” and he called the refrigerator “Food Purgatory.” He had lots of time alone in the milk barn to think up these quips.

If I were forced to name the funniest person in the family, it would be Mom. This was especially true when she was with her sister. The two of them were always getting into situations that would lead to great stories that got better with each retelling.

There was the story of the live chickens that got loose in the car during rush-hour traffic. The one about driving blind in the fog only to find out that the fog was on the inside of the window. The tale of the night the Hells Angels slept under the wings of their pop-up camper. The one about trying to declare a single-shot .410 at the Canadian border. And the many, many stories of their legendary exploits, faults, and foibles. Mom could string these stories out in ways that would make you pee your pants laughing.

She and Betty had a short repertoire of dirty jokes that they told over and over. Betty was famous for her rendition of the deaf couple that wanted to get married, and Mom told raunchy jokes about two old ladies named Betty and Judy. I will tell you these if you ask.

Humor is one of the traits I admire most in other people. They say that laughter is the best medicine. I can’t think of my mom’s stories without laughing. She is a funny one.