Switching the channel to Laugh-In

     

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973 on the NBC television network. Laugh-In was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and featured, at various times, Chelsea Brown, Johnny Brown, Ruth Buzzi, Judy Carne, Richard Dawson, Henry Gibson, Arte Johnson, Goldie Hawn, Larry Hovis, Jeremy Lloyd, Dave Madden, Pigmeat Markham, Gary Owens, Lily Tomlin and others.

     "Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face."

— Victor Hugo

     Continuous warm, spring days seem to be a long time coming this year. Maybe, we all should fret less about it... and just laugh more. Growing up with a house full of siblings, I have memories of fun times mixed with lots of laughter. 
     Laughter is precious — it can rescue us from an embarrassing situation, it can give us a fresh approach to a problem — and, it can help us keep a sense of proportion through a difficult time. 
     More and more, humour is being recognized as a powerful force for maintaining good mental and physical health. It helps us breathe deeper, exercises the diaphragm and even makes the wrinkles — that sooner or later are bound to appear — pleasant ones. 
     Even the medical field recognizes the healing power of laughter. In 1969, Stanford University psychiatrist, Dr. William F. Fry found that one minute of mirthful laughter gave him the same cardiovascular benefit as 10 minutes exercising on a rowing machine. 
     Also, Dr. Richard Johnson of John Hopkins University School of Medicine, said,"I believe that people who have a good sense of humour are likely to live longer, [and] not come down with so many stress-related diseases." 
     Johnson adds, "that's probably why Santa Claus has lived so long. Ho! Ho! Ho!" 
     So, if you want to boost your immune system, find things that make you laugh. 
     In the Bible, Proverbs 17:22 says..."A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a cast-down spirit dries up the bones." 
     Having taught young children for many years, I learned that not only do kids say the darnedest things, but, their growing awareness of life, often causes them to blurt out some pretty choice sayings. 

     Here are a few for your laugh of the day. 

• "When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, 'I'm not sure.' 'Look in your underwear, Grandma,' he advised. 'Mine says I'm four.'" 

• A second-grader came home from school and said to her mother, "Mom, guess what? We learned how to make babies today," The mother, more than a little surprised, trying to keep her cool, said,"That's interesting, how do you make babies?" "It's simple," replied the girl, "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'." 

(Why wouldn't an English teacher love that one?)

Give me a sense of humour, Lord. 
Give me the grace to see a joke. 
To get some humour out of life, 
And pass it on to other folk

"Blessed are the flexible; for they shall not be bent out of shape" — Anonymous.

— beulah