One of the greatest qualities a human being can posses is a sense of humor. It is a means of opening the door and allowing others into your life. It breaks down barriers and provides brief moments of connecting to others. It may even lead to a date. “I know a girl likes me if she calls me. So, when I see someone I’m attracted to I go up to them and bang my wheelchair into their shin the run over their feet. I roll away quickly but on the back of my chair it reads, HOW AM I DRIVING CALL (626) 446-77…”
A sense of humor is important for everyone, but is certainly an asset for an individual with a disability. Laughter puts people at ease. It’s a wonderful disarming mechanism for people who are uncomfortable being around a disabled person. (And we’ve all met those types of folks!) When you can make fun of yourself others realize you are well- adjusted to your situation and their more likely to loosen up. “I’m in a wheelchair and every time I go out with my friends they put my wheelchair in the front seat and me in the trunk. (I tell ya, ‘I get no respect.’)”
I have been a professional “sit down” comedian for over twenty years and part of my routine deals with disability related issues. “A lot of people ask me if sex is still the same as it was before my injury. I say ‘hell no’ the prices have gone way up!” When people come up to me after a show and want to tell me a joke rather than ask what happened to me, I know they’ve look past my disability because they were focused on the humor.
Humor also helps get you through the day... and days are never easy for the disabled. Some unforeseen headache always arises, such as falling out of your wheelchair, a flat tire, punctured seat cushion, a busted leg bag… Come on, a thirty-year-old man pissing his pants… that’s funny! Believe me, I’ve seen it and it’s not pretty… but either is Torie Spelling and we’ve somehow dealt with her.
I believe we were all given a sense of humor. Some of us use it more than others, some not at all. (Don’t marry one of them, you’ll be sorry.) And, don’t be afraid to use your funny bone there is nothing more beautiful than a smile or the music of laughter. I know firsthand… and I’m not half the man my sister is.
Thank you, that’s my time. Oh…Don’t forget to tip your waitress.
