Having a Blast Making People Laugh

James Anthony Ellis
Editor, Legacy Magazine

I gotta say it is more than a blast to make people laugh.

I mean, what else is there in life?

I have discovered this desire to elicit in others the smiles, grins, giggles, snorts, chuckles, laughs, and even bursts of a ROLFL guffaws … where there had been silence or seriousness before. This has become, I realize now, one of my life purposes. 

Now, I’m no comedian and I don’t make a living at tickling the funny bone, and not everything I write is intended to be funny. This article – ahem – for instance. But I have noticed over the years this deep-seated desire.

I’m not sure where it started. 

I was definitely shy as a youth on into my teens, and I know I suppressed many of my thoughts, ideas and punchlines. Even so, I do recall in my youngest years, pre-10, that my family was big-time into reruns of Get Smart, Beverly Hillbillies and the Mary Tyler Moore Show. We would laugh together as a family and this was so much fun … and so connecting. 

My younger sister and I would even somehow memorize scenes from these sitcoms and act them out at a random time. My mom was always up for a good one-liner, even if it was repeated ad nauseam. If any of us kids stumbled over something, there would be the proverbial follow-up: “Have a good trip? Gonna try again next Fall?” 

Silliness and joking around was an Ellis staple. Giggling was in our lifeblood. Laugher was the sign of a gift received. 

In those early years, I would observe the adults in the room laughing after I said something. I was normally confused by that. In hindsight, I do believe this was not due to some wit of mine, but from a “kids say the darndest things” phenomena. With their laughing, I remember thinking, “Man, these adults are weird. Wait until I’m older, then I’ll give them something to laugh about.” 

In my college years – finally leaving the crushing confines of a hesitant and shy adolescence – I would write satirical and silly pieces for my college newspaper. I was so happy to imagine folks reading my light-hearted columns and enjoying them. And then there were the times they told me how much they did like reading and laughing along. This was heaven to me.

In my time, I have written inside jokes for school newspapers, silly articles for mainstream opinion sections, as well as satirical pieces in this Legacy Magazine’s April Fools editions. I also do my best at locating the come-back lines in social media and my daily e-mails when appropriate, Whatever it takes to bring some levity, I am all for it.  

And it doesn’t have to be the written word. Nowadays I simply find myself out and about in my day looking to brighten someone’s world. As I make my way around the store, the food court, the Starbucks, the car dealership, my mind goes to this place: “What can I say to make this person smile, experience joy, even have a laugh over something?”  

Is it with everyone? No. I check out the vibe. Do I succeed? Not always. But not never. 

There was one experience I had at a department store when I decided to have as much fun as possible. Every person I approached, my mind opened to the idea of bringing levity and then I delivered the first silly statement that came to me. For like seven people in a row, I sincerely got a pretty audible chuckle out of them within seconds. And then I moved along. I pictured what that would look like from above, as if in a movie scene. Over a three-minute period, this person moving around a location, setting off little delighted explosions with each encounter. 

I’m telling you: joy, higher purpose, heaven.

And it appears I’m not alone. 

A teammate of mine, Chris Kenney, has similar leanings around humor. He told me, “The feeling of making / getting someone to laugh has been a drug for me my entire life. If I can get someone to laugh, it flips the switch in me and puts me on the stage no matter how small. It makes me feel craved, desired, and needed.”

He goes on to say the drive may be a bit egotistical, where it helps him overcome a childhood where he didn’t feel wanted or useful. He said, “I learned that if I could make someone laugh, they might want me around.”

Hmmm, I believe I can relate to that. 

And I certainly want Mr. Kenney around. He is one of the greatest gifts a teammate or pal could have – bringing such care, comradery and consideration to others. And – oh yes – the quick witted, quickly delivered one-liners. 

If his desires, and if my desire to get people laughing could anyway originate from a sense of lack, or any foible that could be labeled “codependent,” “addictive” or “needy,” I will gladly take it. 

There could be worse strategies a nutcase like me could have. 

And there could be worse results these actions could create. 

I will gladly take the laughs, the giggles and the smiles. I will gladly experience heaven.