Waiting in the sitting room for my dad’s truck to arrive for me, I was a spectator, looking through the mahogany-trimmed doorway into the kitchen. Women with prayer caps, Grandma Longenecker and Aunt Ruthie, were sitting at the gray, Formica-topped table facing one another, eating their supper of garden-fresh green beans, laced with fried bacon. Something else may have been served, but I remember only the scent of bacon—and the laughing. They laughed, and laughed, and then laughed some more—spasms of laughter sparking more laughing. Any second, I expected them to fall off their chairs. They laughed so hard I could see tears starting to run down their cheeks. Who knows, one of them may have wet her pants.
From my secret perch in the adjoining room, I remember the ambivalence of being intrigued by their shared jollity but also feeling shut out from understanding what had made them so giddy—all of it a mystery to me. “What was so funny?” I wonder still.
The Elizabethtown (PA) Chronicle, 1950s
More Mystery
“What’s so funny?”
How the body laughs is well understood. Amusement initiates the coordinated action of fifteen facial muscles, beginning with a lift of the eyebrows and a rise of eye- and cheek-muscle contractions known as the “surprise response.” What follows are spasmodic skeletal muscle contractions, a quickened heartbeat, and rapid breathing. The diaphragm contracts in conic movements that crescendo and then diminish.
How the brain processes humor remains a mystery. It’s easy to make someone smile or cry by electronically stimulating a single region of the brain, but it’s astonishingly difficult to make someone laugh. The “laughter circuit” is complex and various. Puns are processed on the left side of the brain by gyri, bumpy areas on the surface of the cerebral cortex; more complex, non-wordplay jokes are routed through gyri on the right side of the brain and also trigger electronic activity in many other parts of the brain. . . .
Tad Friend, The New Yorker, August 19, 2024, page 17
Benefits of Laughter
A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
Have you had a laughing spell–or observed others doing the same?
Any recent (or, past) funny moments to report?
Good morning, Marian! Your memory makes me smile. I wonder what they were laughing about.
In her later years, my mom laughed so hard she made us all start laughing, and then she would laugh ever harder. Laughter is a wonderful release!
I do remember a photo or two of your mother laughing. Laughter is infectious and a great stress reliever, which your story proves. Thank you, Merril! 😀
You’re welcome. Marian!
Laughter truly is contagious and I’ve always enjoyed laughing with you. Hearty, throaty and genuine.
Yes, indeed, Carolyn. We’ve had a long, long friendship with merry times often including laughter. Thank you! 😀
Laughter is indeed the best medicine! I love when older women share a secret joke and laugh heartily. It probably was something only funny to them. We didn’t have much growing up, but we always had laughter and for that I am so thankful.
We both have a heritage with happy, hardworking folks who enjoyed hearty laughter. Thanks, Darlene! 😀
This past Sunday, I went to the home of some friends who celebrated the baptisms of two of their children. Other friends were there. We’ve been friends for two decades. While we played a board game, we laughed heartily at a lot of things. I needed those laughs! What we laughed at specifically is not something I can describe. You had to be there and know what we know about each other. Some laughs are decades in the making–when you know people so well and have shared experiences and well-known patterns. 😄😄😊
Thanks for sharing a joyous time here.
I do understand the hilarity between friends with similar memories. Cliff and I can laugh when we say “nuck” instead of “neck” because we remember a mutual friend long ago, who tried to be precise and always had to right. His (small) blunder still can send us into gales of laughter. Thanks, L. Marie! 😀
I just started my day with a good laugh. I had breakfast with a neighbor who described her incredible first date as a new teacher who was told by her principal that she needed to give another teacher, who was looking for a wife, a first date. She acquiesced. And they even danced together at a nice restaurant he took her to. He chewed gum — right next to her ear — the whole time. That new teacher had been my own teacher in 8th grade. So I knew all the characters in the story. And it was incredibly entertaining. Started my day with lots of internal “conic movements.” There’s a reason those diaphragm muscles are called “the core.”
Shirley, I heard the gum pop in my ear as you reiterated the dating story. Knowing the characters in a funny story makes it doubly hilarious, I think. Thanks for sharing this story and reminding us about the value of “conic movements.” 😀
Thanks for sharing this post about laughter, Marian. I needed it this morning as I woke up from a nightmare!
I have four sisters and when we get into a laughing spasm, oh my! The same thing happens with my three daughters and me! The tears of laughter will be running and who knows what else! It’s a tremendous release from anxiety and stress!
I’m sorry you woke up from a nightmare this morning.
As you know, blogposts are planned in advance, so I had no idea this one would relieve your anxiety and stress today. Thanks for letting us know, Elfrieda! 😀
Good morning, Marian! I enjoyed your article and that meme gave me a good internal jog. My sisters and I know each other so well, we start laughing before we share a word. Laughter lifts the spirit and sets the atmosphere to positive, no matter what else is going on. Laughter is, indeed, good medicine. Thanks for sharing this today!
Blessings!
How fortunate you have sisters to laugh with. Sharing a similar history is all the nudge you need to start you laughing. Thanks, Patty! 😀
There is nothing more beautiful than heartfelt laughter, especially with those close to our hearts.
I recently went to Spain to spend some time with my family due to my eldest sister having a stroke. As we were waiting in the hospital cafeteria having cold drinks, we started reminiscing about our childhood and neighbours and what we got up to and, despite the worry about our beloved sister, we all had a jolly good old laugh. A moment to remember for the rest of my days. I never seem to get that connection with anyone else.
Patty (above) said the same thing about her and her sisters’ relationship. I’m glad your sisters were with you during this tense time and found laughter to relieve some of the stress.
I hope your sister will have a complete recovery. Thank you for sharing, Fatima! 😀
My brother could make me laugh so hard I’d lose my breath. His son has followed in his footsteps.
Well, thanks to you, we can add “lose your breath” to the list of reactions to laughter here, Liz. 😀
Hi Marian, this is such a jolly post. Reading about people laughing and being happy is uplifting.
That was my intent: Publish an uplifting post + preserve a snippet of family history too. Thanks, Robbie! 😀
A wonderful post and reminder. Yes, I’ve enjoyed some great laughter times recently–cousins (on two sides of the family) getting together and reminiscing on their memories. Names didn’t always come to the brains, but oh the laughing was precious.
Like mine, your anecdote confirms that sharing a long history helps bring on the sillies – ha!
Thanks, Melodie. 😀
There is so much power in a good laugh. It can change my mood on a dime. I’m thankful to be married to someone who also likes to laugh. Life is full of ridiculous and absurd things to laugh about.
Your grandma and aunt seem like two people who would have been fun to be around.
I agree! High on the list of must-haves in our marriage is a sense of humor. And now I’m remembering your post in April: Sometimes You Just Have to Laugh, a great testimonial, for sure: https://petespringerauthor.wordpress.com/2024/04/25/sometimes-you-just-have-to-laugh/
Thanks, Pete! 😀
We are going to the UK in a couple weeks and I look forward to the laughter as we reminisce 🙂 What fun your grandparents were 🙂
Oh, great! You get ot look forward to spending time with long-time friends and relatives. Having a long history with loved ones is a great trigger for laughter. Thanks, Carol! 😀
Love this, Marian. I could almost hear them laughing; you described those times so well.
Seeing the photos made me think of my wonderful tour last month around the Mennonite and Amish countryside in southcentral Pennsylvania not far from where we both grew up. A slice of heaven, for sure.
I’m so glad you got to go to Pennsylvania again. How I wish I could have joined you there. Things are different now because our childhood homes 🏡 have been sold. Still, I can remember fun times when I got to travel to Mount Joy for my high school reunion in April.
Thanks for chiming in, Lorrie! 😊
Marian, I’m enjoying this post and the conversations so much.
My mother did belly laughs and my father laughed quietly (but I believe still exercised those conic muscles). I am more like my father, but can lapse into my mother’s way, and my husband has a wonderful belly laugh, like his father.
I wish there was a verse, “And Jesus laughed.”
Thanks for reading both the story and the comments, so kind, Dolores. And I’m glad it sent you down memory lane for a bit. Your comment goaded me into checking for any verse that would contrast to “Jesus wept.” I didn’t find “And Jesus laughed,” but here’s one that comes close: Jesus “rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit” (Luke 10:21, NASB)
Nice! Thank you Marian.
Tad Friend wrote one of my favorite memoirs, Cheerful Money. It rang true with me because it made me laugh out loud. We laugh loudly and often in this house. Wonderful topic for a blog post.
It’s not hard to imagine laughter at your house, Ally.
I will check out the Tad Friend title you mentioned. Thanks! 😀
What a fun post Marian. I love to laugh and my BFF is in from England now and that’s all we do. The best medine for sure. I love the images too. <3
Laugh on, Debby.
Thanks for tuning in during a busy week! 😀
Wow! Who knew that puns are processed on the left side of the brain and more complex, non-word play jokes on the right! That is so interesting, Marian. And, as you know, I’ve been away, but yes, I just went though a laughing spell during a comedy show we attended on our trip. My friend said she was laughing because my laughter was making her laugh. Haha. It is contagious. 🙂
I always know you will latch on to the research I sometimes include. I think we both like scientific info we can analyze.
Thanks for mentioning your incident of contagious laughter. And welcome back, Melanie! 😀
Hi, Marian,
Yes, indeed. I love this verse because it is so true. It does something within me when I have a hearty laugh. Things change and fears leave me.
I hope you are fine.
Take care.
Shalom shalom
It’s always a joy to see you here, Pat. As a matter of fact, I can hear your hearty laugh too! Thank you for the nudge to dwell in Shalom. 😀
I could use a good laugh, but I rarely get the jokes now or the joking banter because of hearing loss. Have a joyful day with lots of laughter.
I hope, as I do here, have the memory of laughter.
My day is joyful but also foreboding–hurricane Helene is aimed close to our direction. 😀