I really like to laugh. Which is good because when I laugh everyone around me knows. I laugh like I hug, every part of me joins in, it just comes bursting out from somewhere inside. I like how it feels just after laughing. You know what I'm talking about, those little tremors that if not heeded would bring about a fit of giggles and right back into full-on laughing all over again.
Man! There can never be too much laughing for me. Chances are, if you and I don't share a laugh, any from the list below, I probably wouldn't be expecting a Facebook friend request any time soon.
There's the small smile from seeing someone do something sweet or kind for someone else. Offering up their seat on the train, picking up a dropped item or random litter, offering an umbrella or an arm across the street, even catching someone do something silly and think (or hope) no one noticed. Come to think of it, this small smile (not to be confused with a smirk) is also the reaction I have with compliments. They're great to get, just hard not to squirm around when getting them. A small little one sided grin which doesn't mean I don't want it, it means I don't know what to do with it. Like Anne tells me, "Just say thank you."
Then we've got the full toothy grin. Even my eyes will join in and light up with this. It's real. I've seen it in pictures that I didn't know were being taken. I have a smile like this from when Robyn and I celebrated our 31/32 birthdays. I look at that and immediately get the same goofy grin. I like to think that this grin makes people wonder...what's gotten into her?
Occasionally this happens when I am riding on the train or walking around. It's when I'm quiet and reflective that I can take time to really see my surroundings. I love noticing someone do something crazy and out of the ordinary. Catching someone cartwheeling down the sidewalk or getting good news on the phone and doing a little jig. Often little kids can make this happen. Or dogs. They are both always so damn happy to just run around. Who wouldn't smile wide from such innocent play?
But then we get to the silent laugh. You'd think the silent laugh is the polite laugh -- when something is not all that funny but you have to pretend so....and you would be incorrect. The polite laugh, a.k.a. the uncomfortable "it's not funny or I don't get it" laugh is more like the character Janice on Friends. It's awkward and too loud and just feels metallic to your ears.
Kinda like chewing on tinfoil.
No, the silent laugh is the kind that I have to hold in or it's going to go everywhere....it's just that damn funny. Most times my shoulders get involved. I really like this one because it minimizes the number of unexpected audience participants (those folks unfortunate enough to be close by when the out loud laugh breaks).
And now we come to the last two. The doozies. My very best friends, family and unlucky co-workers know these all too well.
There's the Cackle. A full out loud laugh that might be likened to a machine gun. Rapid bursts of laughs. I wouldn't liken it to that. But I know it is. It usually starts with the hard burst of laugh and progresses into the next stage. This is when the unexpected audience participants turn their heads to see who's laughing and begs the question, "What's so funny?"
Which precedes the final stage....the Mt. Everest of my laughing.....the Wheezies.
Yup, I'm one of those. Imagine your Uncle Al, the Lucky Strike smoking, whiskey drinking Uncle. Tell him a dirty joke and see where it takes him. Now, add some tears from laughing and you'll have a fair representation of me. I know it sounds obnoxious and it's probably damn annoying if you aren't a part of the fun, but I can't help it. I don't know how some people have a great laugh -- the kind you could listen to all night long -- and others have, well, the Wheezies for example. But I know for sure that won't stop just because it sounds ridiculous. I don't remember laughing like this when I was growing up, though I do remember trying to practice laughing -- yeah, that didn't last long. I wonder if it will morph again into something down the road a few years. God I hope it's not worse sounding than the Wheezies!
Until that should take place, and I wouldn't hold your (laugh!) breath, please feel free to join in with me. Shake what your Momma gave ya, and all that jazz! I mean....even an Accordion has a place in a pop song every once in awhile. You just have to accept it and decide if you like the noise it brings to the table.
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