Ma-Guffaw

So there are a great many things in this world that make me happy. The pulsating of live music. A sunny yet crisp autumn day. Inducing my own sneezing (I never said some of them wouldn’t be weird).

But one of the top three to five things I enjoy, is making my mother laugh. More specifically, making my mom cry from laughing too hard.

Now, it’s not always a simple as just telling a joke. You see, my mom “hates” comedy. While this statement isn’t meant to be taken at face value, it’s something she helps perpetuate herself. After I’d get home from class in junior high, I wanted to watch The Simpsons (this was when they were still in the tail end of their solid first decade). I would always get my way, but she would always put up a fight about watching a show that is so “silly,” when we could watch something starring Meredith Baxter Birney.  She would always watch with me, commenting on why something is funny versus actually laughing (a huge pet peeve of mine, probably the origin). Mind you, my mom’s favorite movie is the Blues Brothers. So like I said, she doesn’t “hate” comedy. Though I think the music in Blues Brothers coupled with a shared empathy of Elwood and Jake’s plight with the Penguin, might have something to do with this being her favorite flick.

So growing up, I think I found it a challenge to get my mom to admit something was funny, but not her admitting it was funny with words. Nope, my mom would reveal it through uncontrollable vocal spasms or laughing as normal people just do.

So to my delight, as I walked through the curtains at Huge Theater last Thursday for my Theater of Public Policy show I spotted my mom and dad a few rows back. I greeted her with a :-P (yes that is an emoticon, but there didn’t seem to be a way of describing my standard hello to my mother, that didn’t come off as a bit Oedipal and creepy). I think I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve gotten my mom to start crying based on something I’ve said or acted out. Of those times two or three (including last Thursday) I didn’t get to witness, but was informed of it happening later, in this case from my mom. The best part is her getting “mad” at me for making it happen, like I’m some sort of maniacal comedian. But instead of trying to take over the world, I just want to make Yvonne laugh. I’m just Sam L at the end of Unbreakable, screaming, “They called me Mr. Glass.” I guess if that my destiny, so be it. I’ll relish every chance I get to make my mama laugh, be it from my wit, or just me being a dumbass. I think she’s proud just the same.