Funny Ideas

One of my Mom's all time favorites was Lucille Ball. I remember she and my Dad tuning in from "I Love Lucy" on through to the "Lucy Show" and "Here's Lucy." She laughed at her pranks and wit as much as she appreciated her as a woman. I think my Mom really admired her as a Star-- capital S-- a woman of prominence who made her way to great heights in the industry employing clever and decent humor.

My memory of Lucy involves gags, pratfalls and crazy situations. I have an old friend from way back in the Warner Avenue days who's mom was one of the writers. I had to think of that woman the other night, Madelyn Pugh Davis, a woman I never met. As Tam was assembling this amazing dessert for Evan's pre-school (the letter is "W," the snack is worms in a tub of dirt) I started thinking of the numerous ways in which Lucy could have corralled this project into a paddock filled with hilarity. From ingredients, to technique, to assembly, to storage, to substituting forks instead of spoons for kids being served a pudding dessert. I could see nothing but one opportunity after another to make this 30 minute project into a gut splitting half hour of comedy. But Mrs. Davis did it-- week after week after week. And I had to wonder: where did all those ideas come from?  I know there was a team at work but who the heck ever thought of assembly line work in a chocolate factory, stomping grapes, or getting drunk doing a vitamin ad???

I guess maybe the lesson here is just this: What you find in life depends on both what you're looking at and what you hope to find. The important thing is to be looking and expecting to find the best. My hat's off to those who find the humorous and share it with the rest of us.

Here's something to start your day with a laugh.

In case you're wondering-- the desert was a smashing success!