Art & Life by Sue Davis

I guess I needed a good laugh. Not just a chuckle, or a 2 second outburst; a real, take your glasses off and wipe the tears from your eyes laugh. You know what I mean, one of those semi-insane, contagious, and easily repeated laughing jags.

Heres how it went. I had been reading and studying for weeks on end, never taking time to relax, flop on the couch with the family and watch some mindless, dare I say,
non-educational, television. Apparently I had reached maximum threshold. We were watching “My Name is Earl”, season one, episode  14 called ”Monkeys in Space”. Randy was trying to find his purpose in life by trying out a variety of odd jobs. He took a job as a human guinea pig; a subject for cosmetics testing. He was sitting in a chair as the clinician approached him with a tray covered in what appeared to be red dust, perhaps crushed jalepno peppers. The tester unexpectedly blew all of the powder into Randy’s face. He told Randy to call him in a few days when his vision returned. That’s when I exploded into hysterical laughter. I think I took my kids by surprise. They both looked at me as if I had finally lost it. Then they started laughing too. Eventually we managed to stop.

Soon after, Randy was shown back in his hotel room, sitting down, sightless, eating chicken from a takeout container on his lap. He was unaware that his friend Catalina was seated across from him; she quietly reached over and grabbed a piece of chicken from his box. Suprised, he vaulted out of his chair, scattering food every which way. The laughter started all over again.

 I don’t think I should wait so long before relaxing next term.

Sue