Laughter: Getcha Some

Saturday, I treated myself to an awesome girls' night, courtesy of my equally awesome husband who stayed home with the kids. Three fellow writers and I got together and went to the Shakespeare Tavern. Now, I love these four women (oops, three women. We're a foursome including me; math was never my strong point. Oh well, let's just say I did it on purpose as a reminder that you should love yourself. Yeah, that works. Sorta.) Anyway we almost never get together as a group, so it would have been great, regardless, but we made the world's best venue choice. Since I like a lot of Shakespeare's plays anyway, I'm a fan of the Tavern, but we didn't see one of the actual plays. No, we saw them all in a single night! Tony Brown, Andrew Houchins and Paul Hester were HILARIOUS in the three man production of: The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). (Paul did extra duty filling in for all the female roles including a "crazy as hell" Ophelia and slightly Valley Girl Juliet.) This mash up of vignettes, improv, rap (don't ask) and audience participation was nearly painful in its laughter inducement. One friend was literally crying, another kept having to run to the bathroom because she was laughing so hard. My face hurt. First my cheeks, then my jaw, eventually my entire skull. (Gee, sounds fun, Tanya.) But it was sooooooo worth it, trust me.

We need to laugh. We need to take five minutes out of our hectic days and smile if not outright cackle at our desk. Embrace the absurd, the wry or the bengingly comic.

In keeping with the Shakespeare theme, I recommend teen-movie "She's the Man" with Amanda Bynes, a prep school take on Twelfth Night. (Similarly, there's also a modernized Taming of the Shrew set in high school - 10 Things I Hate About You.) Other things that might make you laugh? The rom-com film Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, the novel Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie, the Daffy Duck short "Duck Amuck," a compilation of "Foxtrot" comic strips, any of the Stephanie Plum bounty-hunter books in Janet Evanovich's long-running series, Go Fug Yourself.com if you like snarky fashion recaps of the what the stars are wearing, comedian Bill Engvall's recap of the time he got to fly in an F-16 with the Air Force Thunderbirds, not to mention numerous youtube clips, pictures of animals and kids, or reading a children's book by Mo Willems (of "Pigeon" and "Elephant & Piggie" fame. Best of all, if you read them aloud, you make kids laugh, too.)

I am majorly grateful to Tony, Andy and Paul for the best laugh(s) I've had in '08.

What makes you laugh when you need one most?