Exaggeration; hyperbole; irony; and delivery, are a few of the important tools of humor. I wrote the two pieces below, to show that humor is under all our noses, if we just stop; look, and listen! In the two pieces, I’ll show you how exaggeration is used.

STOP: Stop and smell the roses! If there were 48 hours in a day, there would still not be enough time to do all the things we all have to do. We live in a fast-paced society, and you MUST slow it down, and it will be a healthy move, and you will get more ideas for your projects, etc.

LOOK: Pay attention to the details around you, even if it is just for a second or two. An orange traffic barrel over there; a hot-air balloon in the sky; an ant in the garden, etc. Example: When I keyed these articles for my website, I keyed the word, “Copyright” quite often. So, the obvious question was: is there anything funny about the word “Copyright.” I thought so. In the southern United States, the word “Copyright” is pronounced, Copyrat.

LISTEN: Be a good listener! Everyone will have their opinions as to why and how Bill Gates (Microsoft) is so successful and so wealthy as such a young age. But, none of us really know except Bill Gates himself. My guess is that one of the reasons Bill Gates is so successful is that he is a very good listener. He has always said that he likes to surround himself with smart and creative people. Ideas cannot be copyrighted, and he has LISTENED to the people with the great ideas from all those people who surround him…and the rest is history! He and Paul Allen could not have put the Microsoft giant together all by themselves at such a young age without help! And, that help came in the form of ideas from very smart and creative people. If you’re going to get ideas, it’s important that you LISTEN!

Exaggeration is one of the most important tools in the humor profession. The first is a true story about my wife and the use of coupons…and I just added a little “sugar” to try to make it funny.

Easy On The Mayo

For many people, coupon-clipping has been a popular way to save money. Coupons can be clipped from the grocery store ads, and from other places which are in abundance in the Sunday newspaper.

One day, I went into the kitchen to fix a sandwich and to get a cold drink. As I was rummaging through the refrigerator, looking for the ingredients for my sandwich, I got everything I needed, including a large jar of mayonnaise…and, then I noticed another large jar of mayonnaise, and then another! “What’s going on here.” I thought to myself. Why do we have four jars of mayonnaise in the refrigerator.

I had to go to the pantry, to get the rest of the ingredients for my lunch, and there I noticed FIVE more large jars of mayonnaise! This was getting out of hand! All this mayonnaise for a family of four. I couldn’t believe it, as this was enough mayonnaise to feed the entire country of Bulgaria for a year! The only thing I could think of how this could happen, was the use or miss-use of coupons. My wife does the shopping. and probably saw a coupon in the newspaper for mayonnaise every week or so, and she used it until the mayonnaise piled up!

There were NINE large jars of mayonnaise in the refrigerator and pantry, and my wife had some explaining to do. If we couldn’t find a solution to this problem, I would have no choice but to send her to Minnesota to get a little therapy at the MAYO CLINIC!

* * *

When I noticed all the mayonnaise, I knew I was going to write the story, and I knew how the story would end. And, that’s why I didn’t say anything about the 19 cans of green beans; the 14 cans of tuna; the 16 cans of corn and on and on! Eleven cans of pumpkin. PA-LEASE. My wife doesn’t even bake pies, and I don’t either! I wrote the piece this way because, I didn’t want to distract the reader from thinking about mayonnaise all the way through the piece. (BTW, we gave a lot of this food to the needy).

* * *

This is another true story, and if you think you’re going to get a little rest while you’re in the hospital…THINK AGAIN! Hospital people are a nuisance (and they know it!), and they come into your room all day and night for whatever reason. They push these rattle-traps, they call high blood pressure machines, around all day and night waking people up…you want to scream! If you are in a room with three other people (poor baby), all you can say is…expletive; expletive,
and another expletive…one for each patient! I was in the hospital recently for about ten days, and the following short piece describes how it went during my stay.

10:00 PM; Lights Out; Bonkers Time

MIDNIGHT: Nurse: “Sorry, to wake you, Mr. Aragon, but I have to check your vitals.”

2:00 AM: Nurse: “Sorry, to wake you again, Mr. Aragon, but you have to take your medication.”

4:00 AM; Nurse: “Sorry, to wake you AGAIN, Mr. Aragon, but we have to take a blood sample!”

6:00 AM; Nurse: “Sorry, to wake you again, Mr. Aragon, but you have to be weighed.”

8:00 AM; THE DOCTOR WALKS INTO THE ROOM…

Doctor: “Good morning, Mr. Aragon…how are you feeling this fine morning.”

Exaggeration is a very important tool in the humor business. This is another true story, but a little exaggerated. The nurse didn’t come in and wake me up on the hour, and hour after hour…that’s silly! Hospital people ARE a pain in the (expletive) there’s no doubt about that! But, there were no incidents that happened like this…maybe one or two. So I had to lie…I mean, exaggerate to get the laugh I wanted. STOP; LOOK; AND LISTEN and you’ll get more ideas!

Tip! Evelyn Lim owns an article directory site on health and wellness. Her site is an online directory archive with more than 100 topic categories; including alternative medicine, wellness, health and medical conditions, natural remedy, fitness, weight loss, nutrition, cancer, health insurance, etc.

�Laughter is the best Medicine�, it is a common saying we have heard for countless years. But is it true.

Medical research has shown the body responds well to humor, it helps us deal with illnesses, the pressures of day to day life; we cope better at work and will change the quality of our lives.

We laugh for different reasons, what I find humorous may not necessarily make you laugh. But whatever makes us laugh makes us feel good. And for a detectable health reason�

�Laughter has been shown to reduce certain stress hormones, changes the flight-fright responses that occur in times of stress.

�Laughter boosts our immune system, lowers our blood pressure, and increases our oxygen levels.

�Laughter due to its’ physical nature gives us an overall body workout. So you can have fun, keep fit and stay healthy all in one easy step. Just laugh�

So we should laugh more, read comics, see funny or light-hearted movies, watch comedies on television etc. Whatever it takes just laugh and more fun.

John Kehoe said in one of his books �if you are not doing three fun things in a day, you are ageing quicker than you should’. Can you remember when you last did three fun things in a day or even a week.

A person I know has a job that isn’t overly interesting� you guessed it, he’s an Accountant. One of the things he does each day to bring a bit of fun into his job is to choose a word each day.

Now this word is not necessarily a normal word. It might be �Quasimodo’ for example. He then has to use this word in context in three conversations in his day without anybody suspecting. It doesn’t detract from his work but it makes it more fun for him. If you have a larger staff numbers, this can get very interesting and a great way to make the day go quicker and keeping the day light and fun filled.

But there are numerous things to do, both at work and at home to add laughter into our lives. Look at the number of web-sites that are dedicated to humor, many will send you a joke of the day, or a humorous quote etc. An email with a small laugh attached is a good way to start the day.

But make a point of seeing a funny movie, or hiring a DVD regularly to lighten the mood. Buy TV series that you find funny and watch them every now and then. But make it a habit; it is the habitual nature of things that bring us down. Changing bad habits to good will also raise the energy and laughter in our lives.

Remember, laughter is the best medicine. Life is fast paced, hectic and chaotic at times. Taking a break and having a laugh with friends or family is one of the best remedies you can have � go ahead just laugh.

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