Funny, but not that kind of funny.
Short story
It’s funny how we react in certain circumstances. Not ha,ha,ha, funny but funny all the same.
Like today when I went to the shops I saw a guy who was carrying his shopping while riding his bike suddenly have a massive stack. He ended up sprawled out in the middle of the road with his shopping strewn on the ground next to him. Just as he was trying to make sense of what had happened the lights changed and drivers were impatiently hoping that he would just get off the ground and out of their way. Personally, I don’t understand why people don’t like being held up when they’re driving? Given that it’s a daily reality you’d reckon we’d have learnt to cope with a moment’s loss of freedom by now. I blame car ads and their false promises of freedom. Anyhow, none of the people who saw him stack went to help the poor guy because he looked alright – just a bit stunned. He kind of staggered upright and picked up his shopping off the ground all the while trying to maintain a bit of pride. I think he ended up managing to scoop up what was left of his pride and he headed off down the street while a small crowd pretended not to look on. It was kind of funny.
Then there was the phone call I got the other night from a call centre offering me a lower price for my electricity if I switched to renewable energy. As part of the incentive to change plans she told me that I would go in a draw to win a holiday on an island resort. Imagine, she said, how great it would feel to be swimming in the island pool safe in the knowledge that I was using renewable energy. Given that I never like talking to call centres, but feel I’m being rude if I just hang up, I decided that I would try and get her to hang up on me. So when she mentioned that I could win an island holiday I told her that, although she sounded nice, unfortunately I would not be able to go on a holiday with her as I was married. She was a bit taken aback and tried to explain that I wouldn’t be going on a holiday with her. I just kept repeating that I was uncomfortable with her asking me to go on holiday with her. Eventually she hung up. Later, I went to bed dreaming what it would be like to be using green energy whilst spending time on an island resort that I would probably have had to fly to.
I think these stories are funny the way that Funniest Home Videos is funny. It’s the way you feel when you watch that classic video of someone who is about to get married falling into the water as they’re trying to get out of a boat or the one where someone goes water skiing and they come to a stop on the beach eating sand. It’s that kind of funny. Not your double over and piss yourself laughing funny, the cringe, ouch, maybe I shouldn’t look and I hope that that doesn’t ever happen to me funny.
I wonder what funny story tomorrow will bring.
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