This businessman goes to this really plush social club in New York.  It’s on the top floor of this 100-foot skyscraper.  He walks up to the bar takes a seat and orders a drink.  While he waiting for his drink, he mentions to the guy sitting next to him how impressed he is with the beauty of club. The guy replies, “Yes, this club is a very famous and special place.”  He points out to the businessman that long mirror behind the bar was the same mirror that was on the Titanic, that the bar stools they were sitting on where the same stools that President Kennedy and his brother Robert had sat on, and that the far window in the corner of the room was magic. “Magic?” the businessman said, “how so?”  The guy explained that if you jumped out of it you would fall about 50 feet and then something magic would happen and a gust of air would swoosh you back up into the room.  It’s really a blast he told the businessman, “Try it.”  The businessman couldn’t believe this, so the guy said, “Look, I’ll show you.”  They walked over to the window, opened it and the guy jumped out.  He fell 20, 30, 40, 50 feet and then swoosh, he was swept back up into the window.  With a big smile on his face, he looked at the businessman and told him its really great.  The businessman still refused so the guy said, “It’s really completely safe let me do it again and show you.”  He once again jumped out the window, fell 20, 30, 40, 50 feet and swoosh, he was once again swept back up into the room.  The businessman was now really fascinated and when coaxed by the guy he decided to try it.  He climbed into the window and jumped.  He fell 20, 30, 40, 50, 70, 90, 100 feet and splat, he ended up as pizza on the sidewalk below.  The guy looked down, smiled, walked back to the bar and ordered another drink.  The bartender brought him his drink, looked at him, and said, “You know, Superman, you're really mean when you get drunk.” 

            With all the problems we face today in our teen years, it’s possible we have forgotten how a good hearty laugh feels.  Studies have shown that laughter can be the cure for depression, various sicknesses, improve our general health, and is a great cure for a bad disposition.  Everyday something funny happens around us but we sometimes fail to notice it.  For instance, one goes to the restroom and forgets to zip his fly; he walks around school all day and can’t understand why everyone is pointing and grinning at him.  Finally when he gets home, he discovers that his fly has been unzipped all day, nevertheless, he simply smiles and says, “Thank God I was wearing clean underwear.”  How about the young lady walking down the hallway who is so occupied looking back over her shoulder at the cute guy?  Then all of a sudden, she runs smack into someone.  Books and arms go flying through the air, they both go tumbling to the floor, and while all this commotion is happening, she has this totally comical, “why don’t you look where you’re going?” expression on her face. These are just some of the things that can make us smile or laugh and sometimes make us remember how good it feels to be alive.

Can you remember how you laughed after hearing a good joke and you couldn’t wait to share it with someone else just to hear him or her laugh?   It is even possible that humor and laughter helps people become more social because for that brief moment it helps them forget some of the hardships of daily living.  On the other hand, some people just have plain old funny bones and it’s not difficult for them to have a hearty laugh.  It has also been said that if people can laugh at their own humorous mistakes then they gain the ability to view their surroundings from a different perspective; and those pressing issues we hold so dear wouldn’t be so pressing.  Some of the things we do are really hilarious when we look back on them.  It’s not healthy to always try to be perfect or take everything so seriously If our society were devoid of humor and laughter, there would be a lot of people with other people hands around their necks and surely a lot of puffy blue faces gasping for air.  As I think about it, even that seems funny.  At least we would all be linked to someone else. 

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