Thankful Thursday: Comedy

There are few things I enjoy more in life than laughing and seeing other people laugh (unless, of course, this is done at me and not with me). Those who know me in even the smallest amount know that I love to make people laugh, and if I felt I was good enough at it to do it for a living, I would be. Comedy is one of those careers that everyone thinks they can do, but either never give it a try or go for it and realize that they're in way over their head. It falls in the same category of the rest of my fantasy careers: writing, acting, directing, producing, talk shot host, radio host, etc. Unless you go full board, balls to the wall, and know the right people? You're toast before you even get off the ground.

So since I don't feel I'm at the place in my life both talentwise or financially to chase that dream, I have to stick what what I've got. I have to be thankful for the comedy that does fill my life. Every day, there's something that gets me. Right off the top of my head, I can think of a few things:

- Emily dancing at Chief in the kitchen while she made dinner and pup responding with a confused face

- Chief making a rather halfhearted growl at our neighbor's dog, Jake, when I opened the living room windows and he realized that Jake was out on the yard

- The "that's what she said" montage from tonight's Office

- Reading about Jerry Lee Lewis conducting personal interviews with his gun on the table, between he and the interviewer

These aren't all necessarily comedy by nature, but comedic in their own, unique ways. Emily dancing at Chief makes me laugh because of the sheer ridiculousness of it and the fact that it doesn't make sense to him. I can't imagine what he thinks she's doing. Chief's growling is funny because it's just so darn cute, even thought he means for it to be intimidating. The Office is meant to be that way. Jerry Lee Lewis leaving the Intimidator on the coffee table is one of those things that you can see a man like that doing in your head, and you can't help but laugh at the audacity of it. Still, if I had the choice between laughing myself and making someone else laugh? I'd take the latter every time.

I can't tell you how many times a day I use the phrase "comedy gold." I can see the humor in just about everything. It's part of what makes me good at what I do. As a salesperson, some of my job involves damage control or at the very least putting people at ease. When you can make a joke out of nearly anything in the room, that task gets quite a bit easier. At the same time, I know I cross the line alot. There are plenty of instances where I know that making a joke or pointing out something I find funny isn't necessarily the most appropriate thing to do. Yet still, I do it, and people laugh. Now, in my mind, I realize that that may lose me an ounce of respect here or there in a professional standpoint, and that bothers me to a degree. It's in those situations that I know I need to scale back and have a measure of decorum. The trouble is, it's in my nature. I can't shut it off. I can hold back the floodgates occasionally, but there will always be a few drops of liquid comedy gold that drip out no matter how hard I try.

That's why, when I realize that I've crossed a line or I've made myself look stupid somehow, I'll just shut down. I know that it's better for me to just not say anything than to open my mouth again and run the risk of offending someone else by trying to get a laugh. It's a pretty difficult task. The laughter and smiles of others reassures me that I'm doing something right. I'm getting the reaction that I'm looking for. And when it doesn't pan out? If I don't get a laugh or a chuckle or even the courtesy smile? It's painful. I want to be the funny man. When people are asked about me, I want one of the first things they mention to be how much I make them laugh. I have a sneaking suspicion that my love of all things comedy and the fact that I'm constantly striving to get a laugh helped land me the greatest woman in the world to be my wife. On the flip side, she makes me laugh more than anyone I know. For the first six months that we were dating, I had no idea that she had a side of her that was just waiting to come out. But then? She did the duck face. Ever since that moment, she's put a smile on my face every day.

When I say that I'm thankful for comedy, I mean that I'm thankful for everything that gets me through the day, everything that makes me laugh when I'm alone, everything that inspires me to bring that joy to others. So thanks, Comedy... thanks for everything.