There's way too much serious stuff going on in the world today. Terrorists, politics, (very close to terrorists) and the usual murder and robbery stories all over the media. Ever since I can remember, which right now amounts to what I did 5 minutes ago, I always relied on humor to get me through difficult times and otherwise boring situations. I might add that I paid the price for my humor in many instances including various jobs that I held over the years. But it never deterred me from keeping my sense of humor.
The photograph above dates back to 1978 when I was a sales representative for a record company. That year John Travolta and Olivia Newton John had the top selling album, "Grease." My Christmas card for the company that year was the photograph above. I etched out Travolta's picture and put in my own. They loved it, but it was to be one of the few times my humor was appreciated.
I wrote in my autobiography of an instance at AAA where I had been employed at their call center aiding stranded motorists. My name is Richard but most people call me Dick. Being of Italian heritage I endured the Mafia jokes and always came back with a line when someone invoked the Mafia bit. Usually I'd reply, "Yeah, I'm Big Dick."
We all know of course that my nickname can be used when referring to a body part as well. It's all in how you choose to interpret it. A coworker at AAA yelled out to me, "Hey Little Dick," I countered with, "That's Big Dick to you!" Within a half hour I was called into the manager's office and told that I was being accused of sexual harassment for yelling that out, and that I should apologize to everyone in the office. I replied to the manager, "I've been Dick for years, I'll continue to be Dick for years, and I will not apologize for being Dick. He looked at with a rather blank look on his face but stuck to his demand. That day I handed in my resignation stating that I could not work for a company that obviously had no sense of humor. I might add that I had been an exceptional employee with no disciplinary actions ever in my personnel file.
While employed at SNET some years ago, I started an in house newspaper strictly dedicated to humorous occurrences that happen every day in the workplace. I wrote every single article with a humorous twist and the newspaper became a success. It was distributed to almost 75% of the various SNET offices throughout Connecticut. Because I had also been a union representative, the manager within my office made it his goal to destroy that newspaper culminating in my eventual termination. I was aware of his quest but continued to write my humor until the day he finally succeeded and I was terminated.
Employed at Foxwoods for over 8 years I once again used my humor to publish a yearly Christmas card for my coworkers. There were never any complaints about the card with the exception of one employee who was on the verge of blowing up the world anyhow. I think he's on the terrorist most wanted watch list now.
My point here is that with so much going on in the world today, we all need a break from the bad news. I for one, am willing to risk taking the chance that I may occasionally offend someone in my attempts to be humorous. But that's the risk one takes in seeing things in a different light. I'm willing, and I have always been willing, to take that chance and pay the price if there is a price to pay. If I can make just one person laugh and brighten up their day, then I have accomplished my goal.
As for those that cannot see the humorous side of life........there's always a bright spot for them,.......reading the obituaries.
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