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| Vol.3.140 | |
Sense of Ha Haby Vince PoscenteAuthor of The Ant and the Elephant, Invinceable Principles and The Age of Speed What is it about a sense of humor that's an important quality in our interactions with others? The most checked box on matchmaking sites is a desire for "a sense of humor". Heck, there's even a defensive driving course, aSenseOfHumorDriving.com, where they want you to have "serious fun". A sense of ha ha is NOT just about being funny. It speaks volumes about self-confidence. It relates to the attractive nature of being so comfortable in your own skin you can laugh at your self. Oprah has a contest to host "Your Own Show". Zach from Austin, a person in a wheel chair, has the most hits. In his video clip he says, "I have cerebral palsy, which I believe is the sexiest of the palsy's." Zach goes onto demonstrate his form of yoga. At another point in the video, he admits, "This isn't yoga. I'm just putting on pants. America doesn't want to see this." There are a bunch of things at play here. You can't help but smile at his wonderful attitude. You find yourself attracted to his fun loving energy. He has the magical quality of a sense of ha ha.
Picture this. We were sailing down the freeway towards a restaurant. Only Cam knew the location. I had no clue which turn-off to take. Each turn-off was spaced about a half a mile apart. Plenty of distance, at sixty miles per hour, to exit. Cam broke the silence by saying, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhi__." (imagine the next turnoff 20 seconds ahead). "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee shoooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuld hhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaave tuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurnnnnnnnned (you're almost even with the turn-off) heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere." Screeeeeeeeeeech. I punched the steering wheel to the right. With staccato bounces over half-circle retroreflecters we made the turn. Every passenger, except Cam, was pinned, flat faced on the left windows of the car. His seatbelt kept him in place where he casually said with his signature grin, "Wowwwwwwwwwwwwww, thaaat waaas cutting it clooose." On a sad day, Cam made it obvious a sense of ha ha is all you need to part the clouds.
Giuliani said, "Why start now?" Until next week, it's full speed a-ha ha,
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© 2010 Vince Poscente. All Rights Reserved. |
Years ago Cam Tait, a dear family friend, and I were driving from my recently deceased father's gravestone ceremony. To be clear, I was driving. Cam has a severe form of cerebral palsy yet his slow, drawn-out speech pattern and challenged motor skills are more than offset by his razor sharp wit. His physical disabilities don't stop him from living life to the fullest. For a spell, Cam did gigs at Yuk Yuks Comedy Club, where he opened with his "sit down comedy routine".
No matter how troubled the times are or how dark your situation seems, you can still bring a sense of ha ha to life. Just a couple weeks after New York City's 911, Saturday Night Live hosted their show. There was a poignant commemoration with firefighters, police and Mayor Giuliani standing out front. To round off the somber opening, the Executive Producer, Lorne Michaels turned to Rudy Giuliani and asked, "Now can we be funny?"