Funny Boy

I am secure in knowing that I am funny. I am told that almost daily either at work or in a social setting. However, even if I wasn’t I’d still know I am and if that sounds cocky well, than so be it. Humor is something you either have or you don’t. The ability to make others laugh is a trait that many people think they have but trust me, few do.

There is nothing more grating than some yokel who thinks they are killing but ultimately are boring the hell out of you. Being able to make someone laugh from the gut, not out of politeness is a rare gift. You can’t fake a gut laugh. On some weird warped level I’ve always needed that approval and I always wanted to be the funny guy in the group. If I run across someone else playing the clown, who is actually funny I instantly get jealous and start to find ways to out do him or her.

The key is practice. Each time I tell a story and tweak it. When someone laughs at a certain line, I keep it for the next time I tell it. If the line does not illicit a chuckle, I than lose the line. So, by the time I am telling the story for the fourth or fifth time my routine is set. Also, how you tell the story. Being able to paint a mental picture for somebody is not easy. I can’t offer much in suggestions. You either have the ability or you don’t.

With all that said I am far form being able to make a living doing comedy. While I may be a good amateur funny man doing it professionally is a whole new ball game. I am not kidding myself by trying to think that I am that good. Making a crowd of strangers laugh while you are on stage is not easy and I know I am not that good.

However, in a small setting I am usually pretty good at getting laughs. To tell a story where you get people to laugh is not something that I learned over night. It has taken years to master my craft. You have to know just how to tell it and where to insert jokes and sarcasm. Most of my humor comes from that sarcasm. I am a wise ass and always have been. Maybe it was growing up with George Carlin records and Bill Murray movies in my youth but for some reason I’ve always had that sarcastic sense of humor.

Sure, I have rubbed people the wrong way from time to time but eventually I take pride in the fact that I am usually able to make the most hardened stone face crack a smile from time to time. I also have had difficulties with making jokes at inappropriate times and places. I have put my foot in my mouth on more than one occasion but for me nothing beats that rush I get when I have someone bent over laughing their ass off.

That sense of humor has done me well over the years. I am not what you would call a good-looking man. However, as soon as I got some confidence I realized that if you could get a girl laughing you could get pretty far. I also use that sense of humor as a defense mechanism. If a situation is becoming awkward I always look to crack a joke or something to lighten the mood. Sure, it may cause me to not always take things as serious as I should but, that is just who I am wired.

As I stated there is nothing worse than some amateur “comic” who thinks they are the next Gallagher cracking bad jokes that are not funny. It’s like going to open mike night at a comedy club and seeing some rookie comic bombing and bombing. If people are fake laughing trust me you are not funny. I can always tell when someone is faking laughter. Sometimes in my quest to be the comic of the group I will miss in my humor attempts. Seeing someone fake laugh, while being polite just pisses me off. Hey, if I bomb, I bomb. I’d rather get a cold stare than a pseudo-giggle.