10.28.08
Posted in Laughs at 1:15 am by Administrator
An American comedian who now works the British circuit has a few things to say in an online video. Two of his thoughts stick in my mind. The first regards the run for the American presidency. His assessment is that anyone who wakes up thinking that his country cannot exist without his leading it may be either insane or extremely narcissistic. The second thought he reveals is that Brits do not wish each other a good day and, in fact, don’t care whether anyone else has a good day. On the other hand, they don’t shoot you in the head either, so chances are better that you may have a good day.
Humorists are often not appreciated enough, and lately, it seems that all we hear about are problems and certainly, not just the issues in America. Whenever we can find a humorous side to anything, it is good to embrace it. For example, I sometimes share outrageous remarks with friends just to hear them laugh. Humor keeps everyone on their toes, and probably expands not only the quality of life but the length of it, too.
I’ve been chatty the last few days on this blog, and have not gotten into my studio to quilt or embroider or draw, for a seemingly very long time. There has been too much on my mind that is distracting. However, I am happy to have a husband who spends more time than I do, seeking out weird and unusual facts on the Internet, that can be highly amusing.
What comprises humor? Often, it is the unexpected, like overhearing one side of a phone conversation between a librarian. and her husband/ paramedic who was reporting that “The patient will be alright. He was just blown down by the wind.” The re-telling of that report sent me into gales of laughter, as I pictured the event happening. The scenario tickled my funny bone and I was just about ready to roll on the office floor and kick up my heels. Dead-pan seriousness gets me every time. Hey, we never will get out of this life alive, so why not enjoy what we can?
Pat
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01.02.08
Posted in Laughs at 5:13 pm by Administrator
Oh, how I love the British comedy, “Keeping Up Appearances!” I love it so much, I’ve modeled my behavior after the protagonist, “Hyacinth,” who answers the phone with “Bouquet (Boo-kkkkkk) Residence, Lady of the House Speaking.”
When I engage in that kind of pre-conversation greeting, my friends laugh because they know me, my relatives are baffled (not that they call me that often), and other people don’t know what to make of it.
Now, with all of the political calls, I feel that one has to confuse the enemy … somehow. To that end, the other afternoon I answered the phone with “Buenas tardes,” delivered in such a convincing way, I imagine the person on the other end of the line (a political campaigner) may have wondered if he’d reached “an illegal,” working as a maid.
Life is about taking a few minutes to not take yourself or anything else too seriously. There are enough emergencies, devastations, and personal tragedies to last anyone a lifetime. That is why we need television shows such as the comedies that air on British TV and are piped across the pond to us.
“Hyacinth,” as a character, is a gross exaggeration of someone who would like to be viewed as a member of high society. She goes out of her way to be seen, to travel in the right social circles, and to hold teas using her Royal Daulton chinaware. With it, she can terrorize her poor sister with fear that she might break the china, as she is a known klutz who becomes even more clumsy because of Hyacinth’s fussing.
I love the counterfoil of “Hyancinth’s character,” the heavy set, unshaven, seemingly “low-brow” brother-in-law, Onslo. His wife has been praying for some marital “action” for years, but it never happens - it’s just her dream and fantasy. Onslo and his family always seem to show up in their broken down car whenever Hyacinth might be embarrassed by their presence, at which point they are directed to drive around the block until the coast is clear.
Good comedy portrays real life, exaggerated to some extent. So it was with the irreverent skits of Monty Python, resulting in classic studies in human behavior, I might add. I took a great liking to certain skits - like “I’m a Lumberjack and I’m ok,” and “The Church of the Divine Looney,” and “Trafalgar Square.”
I’m sorry, but I don’t understand people who are so straight-laced that they can’t find something to laugh at. Most of us can start by laughing at the absurdity of the things that happen to us.
My most memorable laugh-a-thon was when I was visiting San Diego in 1989 and my nieces took me to the Comedy Club. I was laughing so hard, I just about fell off the chair (and was not drinking, so don’t blame it on that). The show was hilarious! As much as I enjoy humor, I could never be that funny! However, it affords a little personal joy when I say, “Cummings residence, Lady of the House speaking,” and I hear a slow ripple of laughter coming from the party calling.
G’day to you.
Patricia Cummings
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08.22.07
Posted in Laughs at 3:03 am by Administrator
Look around your house. Do you see your family members standing around the kitchen counter to eat, rather than sitting down at the dining room table? If you are a quilter, and the answer to that question is “yes,” you may be one of the victims of HTMS syndrome. HTMS is characterized by having every flat surface in your home covered with sewing machines, sergers, quilt magazines, fabrics, collected textiles, a camera, quilt books, spools of thread, and sewing implements.
HTMS (better known as “have too much stuff”) is a common malady among quilters who have been “at it” for some time now. The magazines reproduce, like little bunny rabbits, during the night. Every day, you wake up, and there seems to be more, yet, the other side of this syndrome, HTMS, is CGROA (can’t get rid of anything.)
You’d best be aware of these too situations. In some cases, they have led to divorce. In other cases, they have precipitated an afternoon in bed while you ponder what you can possibly do to “downsize.” Take the word, “downsize,” … please!
Downsizing is attempted by the well-meaning person and the idea goes well until decisions must be made. The internal conversation goes something like this, “Oh, no, I cannot possibly part with the original painting that little Bart made in kindergarten, and I will never give away the hat with homemade roses made of construction paper, made by Aunt Flossie in the nursing home. Her creative talents really shone through at the age of ninety.” We can think up all kinds of reasons for keeping all kinds of things, and therein lies the true problem.
Other Warning Signs
The main characteristic of those who have these co-existing maladies (HTMS and CGROA) is that they save everything. Part of the disorder is being HTAC (happier than a clam) to hoard material goods.
With “downsizing” being the buzz word of baby boomers, we will hear more and more groans about these sudden attacks of the above syndromes that conflict with each other. It’s a dilemma with which we will have to deal, lest all those decisions are taken out of hands, in one fell swoop, by fate. I don’t know about you, but the thought of someone else going through my stash of things could make me break out in hives, and that, in itself, is a good incentive to buckle down and start dispensing with some of my earthly goods.
Besides that, maybe if I clear out a few items, we’ll actually be able to find the surface of the table again, to enjoy eating there. 
Patricia Cummings, geezerette
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