• “A day without laughter is a day wasted.” – Charlie Chaplin
• “From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.” – Dr. Seuss
• “Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.” – Mark Twain
• “He who laughs, lasts.” – Mary Pettibone Poole
• “Humor can make a serious difference.” – John Morreall
• “The ability to find humor in the ups and downs of life can give us a new perspective and a new way of viewing our circumstances.” – Allen Klein
• “It is the ability to take a joke, not make one, that proves you have a sense of humor.” – Max Eastman

I’ve heard it said that God gave humans one characteristic that he never gave to any other of his creatures and that was a sense of humor.

Now I have looked in the Bible and have not found any evidence to support that, but humor would seem to be an important part of life. Some people use to talk about people’s abilities, physical features, and characteristic by saying, “When God passed out brains that fellow thought he said trains and said he didn’t want any.” Perhaps some became confused between “humor” and “tumor” and said they didn’t want any of the latter. In our world today humor seems to be in short supply.

I fondly remember the early days of TV, black and white then, and the wonderful comedians that we were able to enjoy. Red Skeleton, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Red Foxx, Moms Mabley, and probably my favorite was Tim Conway who could make you laugh just by his expressions. I’m sure if you are of the older generation, you could name many more. And none of these used filthy language to get their laughs. It wouldn’t get past the censors for one thing.

Then things began to change. A good example I can think of was George Carlin’s appearance on the scene soon followed by others of the same ilk. So called standup comedians appearing in comedy clubs around the country liberally throwing out the “F” bombs, scatological terms, and openly talking about male and female sex organs and sex acts. Oh, and the audiences would laugh. Not because it was funny, but because once forbidden words were being spoken.

I find it hard to find humor on TV these days. I can’t remember the last time I watched any of the sitcoms as I don’t find them humorous at all. Haven’t been to see a movie for years. No longer find them entertaining.

I find humor in other places these days. People watching is one. You can really see some funny things just watching folks walking across the grocery store parking lot. Hair colors worn today, Tattoos and metal objects hanging here and there. However on ne of my favorites places to find a bit of humor is a four panel cartoon that often appears mixed in with other Facebook posts called Pickles. Primarily about an older married couple – Opal and Earl and their interchanges with Earl usually on the short end. I can relate.

I try to be funny or humorous in one way or another when it seems called for. Other times it just slips out. Later, I think, what possessed my to say that?

Witty, I was once called. Maybe. A high school classmate once related to me that a teacher, my favorite teacher by the way, had told her I was witty. Wow, I thought. But though the years I’ve sometimes wondered if maybe the classmate had misheard and Mrs. Roberts had actually said, “That Coyner is a half-wit.” Oh, I would often resort to doing this and that to get a laugh and I often paid the price. However, over the years the school principal and I became fairly good friends as a result of numerous conversations regarding my behavior. I was always shy and come might correctly say I tried to be funny just to get attention. Probably truth in that.

Looking back, I think my misdeeds started in the early grades, because by the time I got to the fourth grade my desk was always near the teacher’s desk. I thought it was because they liked me but came to realize that the word was out amongst the teachers – “If you have that Coyner kid in you class next year, better keep a close eye on him.”

I guess what I’m trying to say is that find humor in life. Life will be much better for you. After all, God didn’t give us that sense of humor to sit on it