Work Laugh

I went to talk with Dr. Disney today. He talked with me a little about how people were so hung up on a guy who lived, then died, then, "about 70 years later, we get the first written account of him... Mark, I believe... and then we get other people to write about him, too, but none of them really write the same thing. Then another religion gets born about 500 years later centering around another guy who went out into the desert... It's like, how do you believe any of this? And how are you so certain you're right that you're able to be mean-spirited to people who have a different belief, when your belief system is based on fiction? I mean, I don't know if I should give up Christianity and become a Jew or a Muslim or what?" I suggested that he become a Tree Hugger. He liked that. And I liked him even more for having thought about things and being willing to talk about it with me. It was nice.

Then, we got down to the task at hand.

"Ok, I've got an easy one for you today. I just got this case today and this particular lady has no relevant medical sources. She's allegating..."

At which point, both Dr. Disney and myself erupt into hysterical laughter. The laughter is deep and prolonged, but it's stifled, as there are people working in other cubes around us. In case it hasn't hit you yet, the word I was attempting was "alleging". "Allegating" is not a word... well, it wasn't a word until about 30 minutes ago. It's now a word-- MY word-- and if you hear it, you know that it was taken from me. I get a quarter every time it gets used.

So we laughed, and Dr. Disney asked, "If this person is allegating something, does that make her an alligator?" This renewed our laughter.

After this, we actually did some work.

But that laughter was really cleansing and refreshing. It was needed and welcomed. I really wanted to ask Dr. Disney for a beer sometime, but I didn't. He said, "You just did that on the spot, didn't you? You didn't think of that before, did you?" I told him it was something that just came out. I told him I used to do that kind of thing for a living. He asked if he could see me perform sometime, either live or on YouTube, and I told him I thought I had some tapes of me, but I wasn't sure. I don't want him to see me perform and then not like me anymore. I told him that watching me on video is different from watching me in person: you're missing the atmosphere and the drinks, "...because the more you drink, the funnier I am." He laughed at that a lot, and I told him that I had used that line often, so I hadn't just written that one.

Anyway, I laughed a lot with Dr. Disney today.