How my Father Influenced my Sense of Humor

My mom’s youngest brother lived with us for a couple years in the middle 1970s. He got a job at the local Vlasic Pickle Plant in Imlay City. Like many in his family, Don was partially deaf, and while he could hear okay, he didn’t hear high-pitched sounds a whole lot.

One Sunday night, Dad took the phone off the hook and went to Don’s room, saying he had a phone call. We could hear what Dad said because Dad made sure we could. As Don walked through to the living room, I had a hard time keeping my face straight because I knew what Dad was doing.

Don picked up the phone, said hello a couple times, then hung up. He just looked confused and said that who ever it was must have hung up. No one laughed at that moment, but Mom did the leave the room pretty quick.

Twenty years later, I was living with my best friend in Columbiaville. She had three sons and son number two, Roy, and his fiancée, Kristen, came back to Michigan from California to spend Christmas with us and her parents. On a dull afternoon, Kristen was reading while I was channel surfing. If you haven’t already guessed it…

I got Kristen’s attention and told her that Roy was calling for her. He and his mom, Joan, were in the office/bedroom working on the computer. Roy is a electrical engineer or something like that and he fixed the computer problems when he came to town. Anyway, Kristen put down her book and then trotted across the house to the bedroom. About ten minutes later she returned and said that I must have misheard Roy because he hadn’t been calling for her.

A few minutes after she was again engrossed in her book, I told Kristen that Roy was calling for her. She put down the book and stood up, stopped, and then looked at me with a curious stare. She said, “Did Roy really call me?” I told the truth and said no, to which she sat down, said something about idiots, and continued to ignore me the rest of the day.

My father never pulled a prank that would endanger or hurt someone. If he did do something, it was always to have some fun and he didn’t mind it if he was found out or that he made a fool of himself for having tried. I am the same way. I will not humiliate anyone in public on purpose. Nor will I say the obvious, even if I know that person will not hear. It doesn’t matter. The news will get back to that person regardless. I don’t care if I look like a fool if the participants understand that I am not out to get them. Thus, I don’t pull pranks on anyone I know, and very seldom on people I do know.

Like Dad, I am more inclined to the gentle art of humor. If I look like a fool, then I look like a fool. But more important, was it funny or at least humorous?