The Sunday Dinner Blog

Food For Thought: Did You Laugh Today?

Bob Dylan sings, “The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind, the answer is blowin’ in the wind.”

You might discover something else blowing in the wind if you find yourself in southern Berks County, PA traveling along Route 10 and turn right onto a long gravel driveway marked by a florescent orange rock. Gaze skyward into the tall tree branches. There’s a good chance you’ll spot a pair of underwear blowing in the wind.

The exact details of how that under garment arrived in the tree branches will remain vague. Just know that it involved my mom, my children, a racing car, and a gastronomical explosion—and lots of laughs.

The older I get, the more I value people who make me laugh—people who laugh when things aren’t going quite right, who don’t taken themselves or any situation too seriously.

I am blessed to have funny people in my life: my mom is a comedian, prancing around in black pantyhose, insisting they are leggings, but later laughing when we convince her she’s been walking around in her black pantyhose; my dad, the quiet serious type, won’t speak for an entire dinner but then he’ll zing an out-of-the-blue-one-liner about being the only earthling yet to have received an email; and my husband who proclaims he’ll stink because all non-essential items like deoderant must be eliminated in an effort to save money for the kids’ college funds.

We’ve all heard the expression laughter is the best medicine.

But it’s true.

It makes everything more tolerable.

Laughter relieves stress, strengthens the immune system, initiates the production of endorphins, and safeguards the heart (Click here for more health benefits). In the spirit of keeping us healthy, here are three jokes I found on unijokes.com that I hope make you chuckle:

Joke #1

A woman goes to her boyfriend’s parents’ house for dinner. This is her first time meeting the family and she is very nervous. They all sit down to eat a fine meal. The woman begins to feel a little discomfort, thanks to her nervousness and the broccoli casserole. The gas pains are almost making her eyes water. Left with no other choice, she decides to relieve herself and releases a dainty fart.

It’s not loud, but everyone at the table hears the pouf. Before she has a chance to be embarrassed, her boyfriend’s father looks over at the sleeping dog that is by the woman’s feet and says in a rather stern voice, “Skippy!”

The woman thinks, “This is great!” and smiles. A couple of minutes later, she feels the pain again. This time, she doesn’t hesitate. She lets a much louder and longer fart rip.

The father again looks and the dog and yells, “Dammit Skippy!”

The woman smiles and thinks, “Thank God!”

A few minutes later, the woman doesn’t even think about it and farts with the force of a train whistle.

Once again, the father looks at the dog with disgust and shouts, “Dammit Skippy, get away from her before she poops on you!”

Joke #2

A small boy is sent to bed by his father.

Five minutes later: “Da-ad…”

“What?”

“I’m thirsty. Can you bring me a drink of water?”

“No. You had your chance. Lights out.”

Five minutes later: “Da-aaaad…”

“WHAT?”

“I’m THIRSTY… Can I have a drink of water?”

“I told you NO! If you ask again I’ll have to spank you!”

Five minutes later: “Daaad…”

“WHAT?!”

“When you come in to spank me, can you bring me a drink of water?”

Joke #3

(I took the liberty of changing the pronouns in this one…he, he!)

A woman stands over her tee shot for what seems an eternity: looking up, looking down, measuring the distance, figuring the wind direction and speed.

Finally her exasperated partner says, “What’s taking so long? Hit the damn ball!”

The woman answers, “My husband is up there watching me from the clubhouse. I want to make this a perfect shot.”

“Forget it,” says her partner. “You’ll never hit him from here.”

  ***

I hope you have a wonderful, laugh-filled Sunday. Here’s a “light” recipe idea.

Thoughtful Food: Caribbean Broccoli Chicken Salad (compliments of Publix Aprons)

Ingredients:

¾ lb fried chicken fingers, cut into thin slices

1 mango, peeled & sliced

1 lime, squeeze for juice

1 head Bibb (or iceberg) lettuce, leaves separated

3 tbsp mango chutney or sweet & sour sauce

2 tbsp peach preserves

3 tbsp plain low-fat yogurt

1 (12-oz) bag broccoli slaw

½ cup golden raisins

2 tbsp sunflower seeds

Instructions:

Prepare dressing by whisking chutney, preserves, and lime juice until smooth. Add yogurt and mayonnaise and continue until blended. Add slaw, chicken, mango, and raisins. Toss to coat. Place lettuce leaves on plate, then add chicken mixture, and top with sunflower seeds.

Thought For The Week:

If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know the man, don’t bother analyzing his ways of being silent, of talking, of weeping, or seeing how much he is moved by noble ideas; you’ll get better results if you just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he’s a good man…All I claim to know is that laughter is the most reliable gauge of human nature. — Fyodor Dostoyevsky 

Who makes you laugh and why?

Share your best joke.