It's National Let's Laugh Day. No one appreciates a good laugh as much as me. Which is ironic since I don't look funny (and by funny, I mean I don't look like a humorous person...I may indeed look funny). This can cause problems because many times people don't know I am joking. And I will admit that there have been many times when I have blurted out something I think is funny at the worst possible time.
It's not so much that I want to be taken seriously. But there are many times, especially when I am in an uncomfortable situation that I try to be funny to make it less uncomfortable. That doesn't work too often. And there have been many times when I've reacted negatively when people ask me to be funny on demand and I blurt out something akin to, "I'm not your dancing monkey."
In reality I don't mind people laughing at something I've said, I just have a constant fear of them laughing at me, instead. I remember this one particular instance many years ago when I used to have to wear the mascot costume at my company (don't ask). There had been some photos taken of me in the costume. It was a superhero costume and had muscles built in, but it was skin tight spandex and I've always had issues with stomach rolls. I walked by one of our graphic designers work stations and he and another designer were laughing and looking at the image of me as the mascot and making circles around my prominent belly. It was mortifying. But I laughed it off.
I believe behind every clown is an insecure Hamlet pondering "To Be, or Not to Be...Funny."
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