Humor is something we all cherish. Well, most of us. I do know a few sourpuss types that seem incapable of cracking a smile.
Research has proven that laughter relieves stress and can improve health. How many of us needed research to prove that? Humor at work is especially therapeutic. So, why isn't there more of it?
This is on my mind because in the past few months I've lost two funny colleagues - Brad Steckline in November and Ron Lloyd at the end of January. These were two of my favorite people, very intelligent hard working guys, capable of the technical deep dive. But when I think of our interactions - even on serious topics - I remember the humor. There was nearly always a laugh in there somewhere.
Last weekend I attended a memorial service for Ron and what an amazing tribute. I'm sure he'd have been pleased and proud of the music, humor, and love on display. I especially enjoyed the humor referencing his math prowess. He's the one I always went to for any help with numbers. He'd always help but wasn't shy about teasing me either. He was the only person I know that read math books for fun.
Ron loved a good laugh and he took great pleasure in making fun of the pompous and self-important. But he was never afraid to laugh at himself either, like the time he ended up on a Washington shuttle when his destination was Boston.
Brad would laugh at himself too, but his sharpest sarcasm was reserved anyone who took himself too seriously - especially his friends.
We once bargained hard with a vendor in Shanghai over a dozen Mao souvenir watches. When we were done, Brad took great glee in pointing out that we had just taken an hour to save the equivalent of about two dollars.
Then we found an Irish Pub and had a pint of Guinness.
Losing our friends is no fun. So, what better reason to make humor a daily priority while they're still around? And while you're appreciating others, why not send flowers to someone you love?
A Ron favorite, here are a few George Carlin one-liners for your daily dose…
- What if there were no hypothetical questions?
- If a deaf person swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap?
- What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?
- Why do they put Braille on the drive-through bank machines?
- If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
- Whose cruel idea was it for the word "lisp" to have a "S" in it?
- If the "black box" flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash, why isn't the whole airplane made out of that stuff?
- Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?
- Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?
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