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It is said laughter is the best medicine.

Add a glass of wine with that and I’m the funniest chick on the planet. 

Which is why I accepted an offer to perform a recent stand-up show in Greenwood—one of my favorite, Mayberry-ish towns in South Cakkalakki. It had been a while since I’d yucked it up there, my last gig being a memorable, sold out show at the Greenwood Community Theater, which doubled as a benefit concert for nearby Big Oaks Rescue Farm. But this time the venue was to be a country club—huh?—something I’d never done before or even thought of doing, but I was game. Even if I have no jokes about golf or pastel polo shirts.

Driving down, I had no idea what to expect and my left eye was still smarting after stabbing it with the mascara brush. Yes, it’s been some time since I had to slap on a full face of makeup, but with enough Bondo and Spackle, I was relatively presentable as I pulled a remnant of hay out of my bra and headed out.

Who would come to a country club to experience an evening of stand up comedy, I wondered. It turns out enough people to pack the joint, and what a wonderful audience they were. From the first joke they were solidly with me and that is when the magic happens: there is an immediate intimacy a comic develops with a crowd of people who are all, on some level, relating to the material offered. Stand up comedy, unlike other creative arts, requires a specific, physical response in order for it to be successful. Even if an audience is grinning the entire time, unless they release an audible guffaw, chuckle or belly laugh, ya got crickets. 

This audience, as they proved with my opening and feature act, Mike and Roger, came primed and ready to enjoy themselves. And chatting with several of them afterwards it became crystal clear that they needed to laugh. They needed to get away from the news, politics, for, as one woman put it, touching my arm, “I honestly can’t remember when I’ve laughed this long and this hard. I can’t tell you how much my husband and I needed this.”

When a barrage of headlines seems released almost by the hour, it can become daunting to try to keep up and sometimes we don’t want to keep up. On top of this, many of us are just trying to live our lives and pay the bills. Taking a break to have a coffee with a friend or take one’s dog for an extra long walk can be helpful, but how I’d love to write out a script for a daily supplement of comedy until your stomach aches and you feel both your shoulders and blood pressure drop with relief. 

We live in an age where one can stream nearly every movie ever made. My go-to is ‘Withnail and I’ or ‘Shirley Valentine.’ There’s so much to choose from— remember ‘Airplane?’ ‘Richard Pryor Live from the Sunset Strip (not for memaw)…And Leann Morgan’s Netflix stand up special is delicious. 

Honestly, is there anything more enjoyable than experiencing laughter with friends? All sharing the same gut busting emotion at the same time? How many of us even, like the lovely lady I spoke with, remember doing so? It sort of makes me realize why women always list ‘a sense of humor’ as the most important attribute in a potential mate. 

It’s true. At least it was for me. While all the other pre-teen girls in my class were in love with David Cassidy, I was all about Moe. Regardless of whomever was your favorite Stooge, these days, it’s imperative to indulge in a bit of self care. And if you can’t laugh at others, come over and sit by me— I’ll show you how.