Oftentimes the people with the greatest natural sense of humor feel they must protect others from it because they themselves feel condemned to it, not gifted with it and blessed by it. They are forever trying to leave it and go to some more serious pursuit, like the piano player who is always trying to be a singer. The humorist can choose to create philosophy, and not just comedy. One of my most poignant memories is one that occurred after a large banquet in Denver. Herb Shreiner, the marvelous Hoosier humorist, entertained and I did the after-dinner speech. Going to the airport together afterwards in the cab he said to me, "Fred, I wish I could say something." To which I queried, "Herb, what would you like to say?" He said, "That's it. I don't have anything to say." The truth is, he did have something to say. He was a worthwhile person and I tried to show him the value of being the next Will Rogers. Unfortunately, he was killed not long afterwards. Humorists communicate while comics often repeat what someone else has written or said.
Good humor is a way of looking at life. It believes nothing is perfect; it lives and let's live…. Therefore it gives us the freedom to relax a bit and laugh. It recognizes that we all have our good and bad days. Good humor operates with the slippage of a belt drive, not the exacting gear teeth which are unable to give without breaking.
The best thing about humor is that it grows out of our need for it. The more we desperately need it, the more it develops. The inner person has been saved from destruction by a spirit of good humor while the outer person was being tormented. This is not humor about the persecuted but for the persecuted. It has kept our spirits up even during bitter periods when cynicism was poured out like acid or depression fell like a malady. We know that good humor will rebound with normalcy and with it good sense will return to life.
When the illogical masquerades as logic it must be treated with humor. For example, the hippie who, when caught in the house before stealing anything, was asked, "What are you doing here?" "Man, everybody has got to be somewhere" was his reply. There's such logic to that statement that is has to be funny. Other times we don't depend on logic but simply on the situation to salvage our dignity with humor. Like the bishop trying on a very fancy robe who said, "I'm just trying it out. We haven't decided whether we can afford it yet."
Natural humor occurs so frequently that we don't have to strain to be funny. In fact, that is the hardest way. We rightfully resent anyone who manipulates the situation into a setting for one of his oft-told stories or smart-aleck remarks. When they come naturally it is humorous. When they don't it is imposition. We welcome other spoon into the stew when they come to stir, but not to eat.
Often we think of "humorous" and "serious" as being antithetical, when actually they are two sides of the same coin. They are two separate ways of expressing the same thought, not two different thoughts. The most profound thought can be expressed humorously in the right setting with respect. Most people don't believe that so they opt for communication that they think will be most appreciated and heard. But when we think of humor as a variation it is like being able to speak two languages with equal fluency and having the ability to move from one to another with ease and appropriateness.
Humorist William Zinsser found in his Yale writing class that "students strove at first for humor, hoping to bag a few truths along the way. We ended up by striving for truth and hoping to add humor along the way. Ultimately we realized that the two are intertwined."
