On Perfecting Silliness

Some of my family fooling around.

What happened? I thought they turned you into a newt?
I got better.                                             Monty Python

Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!
I'm not dead yet. Boof!

You will be...                                  Monty Python

Every sperm is sacred.                            Monty Python

In the state of Mississippi some believe, that every sperm is practically a person. It was on their ballot. If the thought was not so horrifying for all womanhood, this is to me, the height of silliness. Fortunately Monty Python beat them to the punch with their song, "Every sperm is sacred" and also fortunately the state of Ol' Miss has many rational and intelligent people. The ballot got roundly defeated.

One of the perks of my job is that I get to hear about people's stories and lives. True, everyone has their trials and tribulations and tragedies but often over looked and under appreciated are the screamingly funny situations that happen in most of their lives. That is precisely why I insist that all my clients, each day, find something that is amusing and that each day they be aware that funny/silly things are happening all around.

I really try to talk up silliness as an important addition to any relationship. My family is inordinately close and one of our bonds is the humor we have when together. An example being we just were in Kansas City for a wedding of one of my nieces. MY brother was looking for "the best barbeque in Kansas City" which struck all of us as the perfect quest. So when he asked around and three unrelated people said "Gates" we headed out for the restaurant. When I looked up at the menu and saw "Slab of Ribs", I knew exactly what I wanted. I coaxed my husband, "let's do it!" He shook his head, "that's too much food". I didn't whine but he said, "what the hell" and we got the ribs. They were fabulous and incredibly filling. After I ate approximately one third, he looked down and there was one juicy rib left. He said, "someone tell me to not eat that rib." Spontaneously we all yelled, "Go! Go! Go!" and he finished the rib to our chants. How we laughed. At the wedding in the spirit of silliness my niece and her now husband had rented a photo booth that shoots out the column of four little black and white pictures. The best was my son who kept a straight face and was in a different costume for each shot. When we complimented him he said, "it was hard work." Mr. G and I had so much fun we did it twice, once making faces and kissing and once with costumes.

Speaking of kissing, one of the most under reported sexual allures is the ability to make a partner laugh. It is a huge leg up [no pun intended] for the attraction to a mate and it definitely increases interest in the would be wooer. Speaking personally, Mr. G would never have so quickly won my hand without his ability to make me laugh. The above picture raises silliness to an art form, literally. Here are Mr. G and brother Bob fooling around a sculpture of a giant spider in front of a contemporary art museum. Made me laugh. Aren't they amusing?

I believe that sentiment, increasing daily hilarity in a partner, is hailed by many a woman as an important plus. And since we are the only mammals that can exhibit wit, to my way of thinking, it is an enhanced form of courtship. Admittedly, monkeys, baboons, hyenas can laugh but only when tickled, not from a situation or an expression. I don't think that baboons and monkeys make their partners laugh prior to coupling.

One of the happiest forms of silliness is games. I can hear an audible groan from all the sports fans, but trust me, these honestly are silly games even if they are called Superbowl's, or the World Series [which we refer to in our house as the World Serious]. Money aside it is a form of play and in adults, a form of silliness.

I love some games and loathe others. Don't we all? I will walk, or cross country ski miles to be with friends for a game of Scrabble even in the dead of winter.  I delight in Banana grams, Mexican Train and charades. We are actively trying to pass along this past time to our grandchildren and so far successfully. It's fun and it's silly and, if not too competitive, a relaxing good way to be with each other.

Another good use of silliness is watching other's foibles on YouTube. I spent an entire evening watching videos people had taken of  their dogs that can "talk". Most of them "said" things like "I love you" which sounded a lot like whining but my, oh my was it funny. I discovered this several days after I saw my Mom for what I knew would be the last time in my life and needed a little pick me up. Silliness to the rescue. Also, Will Ferrel has a very funny and very silly video on UTube with his two year old daughter Grace playing the part of his landlady. So, little kids, dogs and cats, puppies and kittens provide endless entertainment, especially if you are sad, lonely, grieving or plain bored.

What this all comes down to is my observation from the previous post that with depression there is very little levity. So it begs the question, can we coax levity? A definite yes. Always? No, but what the hey, give silliness a try. Monty Python works best for me, but then there are the embarrassing favorites like 'The Pineapple Express', 'The Bridesmaids', and less embarrassing 'Young Frankenstein', 'The Producers', 'Raising Arizona' many of the Marx Brothers films. These movies which can shake up your depressed, crabby mood and make you laugh. If that doesn't do the trick read a funny book, call someone who routinely makes you laugh, but act on your funny bone. The only thing you have to lose is the blues.

susansmagicfeather copyright 2011 Susan R. Grout  all rights reserved.