Didja Ever. . .

[hartlikeawheel]

find yourself in a situation at work where the urge to break into uproarious laughter at an inappropriate time arose? What triggered it? How did you handle it?

I often wish I'd had more time away from that blasted paper work to write more down but many absurd situations stand out in my mind.

There is a book here to be written.

I can start with a friend lecturing on the effects of severe alcohol abuse who was talking about Korsakov's syndrome - "wet brain"-whom accidently called it a "wet dream" leaving her all-male audience in fits of laughter.

How about yours?

[slb2]

Freshman year of college. My roomie and I, though we didn't know one another well, went to some Christmas play at some church. I don't know why or where; it's been too long ago. But it turned out to be an evangelical altar call at the end of the play. The church leaders were up there PTL-ing with a southern twang while their hands clapped down on many bowed heads. "Oh dear Jes--, pray foh this here child of your's. Set her right in your eyes, let her be your bride! Praise G-d, chillun"

Roomie and I began to giggle. Eventually this turned into heaving laughter with tears spurting out, we could hardly breath we were laughing so hard. Of course these folks took that to mean that the devil was blocking our way to Jes--.

Well, no.

[hartlikeawheel]

I had a young not-too-bright man in one of my groups who had had sex with his best friend's wife. He was truly feeling terrible about it.

So we did that old standard "Write him a letter. You don't have to send it."

He brought it to group and I asked him if he would be comfortable reading it aloud.

Yes, he would do that.

It was the expected stuff but the kicker was his postscript:
"P.S. How's the new baby?"

Another group I had a woman whose farming husband would do the chores before he came to family group and he absolutely reeked of swine effluvium. He had to be told to take a bath before he came.

I guess he felt pretty self-conscious about it after that because one night a woman was talking about her husband's harmful behavior and she was just sobbing and nearly everybody was joining her.

In a moment of silence Mr. Farmer piped up, "Does anyone smell pig thit?"

Mercy. Keeping a straight face sometimes called for everything I could muster