Do What?

It's happened again.

That dull look on the face of my long suffering husband when I relate what is apparently a 'chick moment' that he simply cannot relate to or with.

Meanwhile, my eyes are flooded with tears, my sides ache and I can't breathe from laughing so hard at whatever it was that turned the giggle box over.

When I regain enough composure to ask why he isn't laughing, he replies, 'It must be a girl thing."

Alrighty then.

Humor IS subjective. But the difference between male and female humor apparently has a demilitarized zone. Who knew?

Lines from movies like "Steel Magnolias" that send me into a virtual apoplectic fit of laughter scarcely garner a notice from Rick. Likewise, comic strips that leave me helpless with laughter don't even register one tick on the mirth meter for my husband.

But he will laugh himself silly over things that leave me scratching my head.

For years, I attributed this difference to the regions of the U.S. which were our birthplaces. I just assumed western humor and southern humor were three different things.

But now I realize that it goes far deeper than I once supposed.

Differences in male humor and female humor trumps all regional and societal norms. It truly is Venus and Mars.

How to bridge the gap? Once in a while, we find humor in the same phrase. And we use it as a secret code between us in social settings to remind us of those close moments of shared comedy that define our humor zone. The humor zone, like the erogenous zone, must be stimulated regularly or it withers away.

But not everyone is triggered by the same stimulation.

While I can appreciate the subtle intricacies of the 3 stooges, I prefer a brand of comedy that is a bit more emotional and more intellectual. I'm no slouch. I DO enjoy a good pie to the face and a bit of seltzer down the pants from time to time, provided I'm on the watching end and not the receiving end.

Having said that, you have to know that too much of a good thing can dull the senses and ruin the comedy appetite for me. After all, too many pies are too many pies.

So what defines what is funny to us?

Circumstance, upbringing, gender . . . I'm not sure.

Regardless of how many times I see it, the movie 'What's Up, Doc?' cracks me up. I know it well enough to say the lines along with the actors. But it is STILL funny. To me.

Have you had a laugh today? May I recommend one? You'll feel better.