Posts Tagged ‘senior humor’
October 19, 2009
Indeed, humor can be hard to handle. Many years ago in Toastmasters I gave a humorous speech that was merely a series of jokes with few connecting comments. To point out my error the evaluator mentioned a speaker who used jokes carrying numbers known to the audience. His punch line was all that the speaker really had to do was cite the number of the familiar joke and his audience was sure to laugh. Words were unnecessary.
A few years ago a humorist compiled a book of many jokes aligned to tell a logical story with a beginning, middle and end. It was a monumental work cleverly done, but it fell flat. It lacked soul.
Sometimes it is possible to use jokes in the public domain and alter them to make them appear as an integral part of the talk A simple example: “A man said to a friend—–.” The speech preparer could say “This morning my neighbor told me——–.” This will personalize the story and make it seem more original.
An absolute “no no” is opening a speech with a joke or a wry comment that has no relation to the speech, speaker, or listeners. Such a speaker believes that he has to have a joke for the sake of the joke in spite of its irrelevance.
As we can see from these awkward comments, humor takes work for the vast majority. Only a favored few find it spontaneous.
Tags:jokes, joyful aging, laugh for health, laughter, senior humor, senior laughter
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October 8, 2009
A blog is a personal document that enables the writer to give any opinion he deems suitable. I originally intended a web site which would usually formally advertises a product or service, but there seems no reason why a blog cannot serve the same purpose. Of course, there is always the danger that the reader will quickly recognize the barely veiled purpose and will exercise the inalienable right to delete.
After many years in business, public speaking and experiencing the vicissitudes of the three stages of life. I have prepared two speeches for senior citizens. One, “Polishing the Gold of the Senior Years” shown on another part of this blog, and the other, “Golden Age Glee.” Information on these, plus others on non-related topics, are printed in a brochure available on request which can be made on this blog under “Contact”.
Is there a charge? Yes, if there is a budget. Otherwise, the presentation is pro bono publico.
I would like to hear from you if you are interested in making comments, suggestions or criticisms for which, of course, there is no charge.
Tags:aging gracefully, humor, joyful aging, Life Enrichment, senior humor, senior laughter, Senior Life Enrichment
Posted in Senior Snapshots | 2 Comments »
October 8, 2009
Nothing characterizes the senior years like the failure to make the brain respond when desired.
Short term memory problems begin in the middle years, and as the decades go by people increasingly admit “I can’t remember.” A host of humorous stories accompany this embarrassment.
Three senior ladies were discussing the torments of growing older. One said, “Sometimes when I’m in front of the refrigerator with a jar of mayonnaise in my hand I just can’t remember if I need to put it away or if I want to make a sandwich.”
The second lady added, “Yes, sometimes I’m on the landing of the stairs and I don’t remember whether I was on my way up or on my way down.”
The third one responded, “Well, I don’t have that problem, but I’m going to knock on wood.” While rapping her knuckles on the table she told her friends, “That must be the door. I’ll get it.”
Seniors have a couple of simple techniques to deal with forgetfulness:
- Write down what you want to remember. Admittedly everyone knows this.
- If you are away from home but still near a telephone (like a cell), call your home number and leave a message on the recorder. It will be there for you when you return.
Tags:joyful aging, laughter, Life Enrichment, senior humor, senior laughter, Senior Life Enrichment
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October 8, 2009
Seniors have managed to fashion a social life that is less hectic than the younger version, but still provides necessary human contact.
A lady of 85 was a house guest of her daughter. Soon the man next door, age 90, called to ask her for a date. Perplexed, the senior lady asked her daughter who verified the good character of the neighboring senior.
They went out, and on their return the mother was very upset. When asked the reason the mother said, “I had to slap his face three times.” “Did he get fresh?” asked the daughter. “No, I thought he had died,” the 85 year old mother replied.
In a nursing home an elderly man in order to appear younger always dressed in a suit and tie. One day he was discussing his age in general terms with a lady resident, and she claimed she could guess it exactly. They made a bet. She asked him to turn his back and then to pull down his trousers and drawers.. She then asked him to turn around and to face her. After a minute she exclaimed, “You’re 84.” He asked her how she could guess so accurately, and she replied, “You told me yesterday.”
Observation: Senior men with failing memory are helpless around predatory senior woman.
Tags:aging gracefully, humor, jokes, joyful aging, laugh for health, laughter, senior humor, senior laughter, Senior Life Enrichment
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September 28, 2009
In the first decade of the 21st Century an even more fertile source of laugher are the attachments emails sent by relatives and friends. I probably never had such vigorous and sustained glee in the decades before the invention of the diverting attachments. At times it seems that some of them, at least, converted me from a gloomy Gus of unrelieved solemnity to an occasional patron of mirth.
I usually print the likely jokes on 8-1/2 paper and place them in the appropriate file for future reference, or, if they if they fit on 3 x 5 cards, cut them out and paste. Sometimes it is necessary to fold part of the joke on the other side of the card, or perhaps merely cut it in two and paste one-half on the other side of the card.
My computer skills are not sufficient to enlarge or decrease the text size in order to make it fit the card either on one side or two. It may be, however, that the printer is equally lacking in this skill.
Tags:humor, jokes, laugh for health, laughter, Life Enrichment, senior humor, senior laughter, Senior Life Enrichment
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February 17, 2009
Part I
Recently, it seems that whenever I see someone after an absence of a year or two they often say “Virgil, you never looked better.” Probably they are referring to the three stages of life i.e. youth, middle age, and ‘you never looked better.’ That made me feel good for a time until the day my sister and I were rummaging through a box of photos that our mother collected, and there was my high school graduation picture, the kind that is sent to the relatives whether they want it or not. Reluctantly, I admit that I looked better then than now. Probably when people comment favorably on your appearance, they are being polite and in effect are saying “You don’t look so bad for somebody your age.”
Time affects everything on earth. The purpose of this modest composition is to mention the vexations of the senior years and the ways of making them yield contentment and satisfactions.
People look on age differently. Ask a little boy how old he is, and he is likely to reply “Oh, I’m eight and going on nine.”This enthusiasm implies that he is eager to age and grow up fast. Ask a mature man how old he is, and if he replies, you are not likely to hear “Oh, I’m forty-nine and going on fifty. HOORAY!”
There is another strange thing about the passage of time: the closer we get to a certain age the younger it becomes. For example, a ten-year old thinks twenty-five is ancient, but a person of sixty does not consider seventy old. Time also causes some seniors to change their opinions of advanced age. Women, primarily, but not always, are coy about age revelation until the eighth or ninth decade. Then, many seem to delight in boasting “Oh, I’m 87″ or a similarly advanced age.
A wit suggested that for men there are four stages in senior progression. He overlooked women probably because discretion is the better part of valor. A man knows he is a senior in the first stage when he forgets names. In the second stage he forgets faces. In the third stage he forgets to zip up, and in the fourth stage he forgets to unzip.
Tags:aging gracefully, El arte de vender con éxito, El envejecer con garbo, El humorismo, humor, joyful aging, La alegría de la tercera edad, La mente.El músculo, La mezcla (asociarse con gente), Life Enrichment, senior humor, three stages of life, Virgil y el humorismo
Posted in Life Enrichment | 2 Comments »
February 11, 2009
Part IV
During a visit at another senior center I saw a man who was slyly close to an attractive young employee. He seemed to whisper something in her ear. She turned and pushed to the side and angrily shouted “Oh, you’re interested in only one thing.” And then she had to tell him what it was.
One afternoon I visited an elderly gentleman in his home, and on walking in I noticed something in his ear. Getting closer I remarked “Why, you have a suppository in your ear.” In a sign of recognition he put his hand to his forehead and gasped “Now I know where I put my hearing aid.”
In managing our senior years we can use the word cope, popular several years ago, but still useful. Obviously most seniors cope fairly well. After all, we’ve had years to learn how. As an aid to coping in our daily routines, let’s keep in mind the well-worn slogan “Attitude is everything.” It affirms that thinking can make it so, a principle advocated in cognitive therapy,
We can all lament the disappointments in our lives. We may not have achieved our youthful ambitions. But we can be certain of one thing! We have reached a certain age! We have a birth certificate (or driver’s license to prove it). Recently, I had a disquieting thought. Maybe they made a mistake on my birth certificate. Maybe, I’m really ten years younger. The initial ecstasy vanished on thinking about the consequences. I would have to return social security and company pension payments as well as discounts received from McDonalds, the airlines, movie theaters etc. Even more troubling would be a mistake made in addting ten years to the actual birth date. It’s better to stay where I am and think about Mark Twain’s comment: “I’m an old man. and I’ve known many troubles, but most of them never happened.” Here are two troubles that probably never happen to anyone.
Tags:aging gracefully, El arte de vender con éxito, El envejecer con garbo, El humorismo, humor, La alegría de la tercera edad, La mente.El músculo, La mezcla (asociarse con gente), La tercera edad, Los Placeres de la Tercera Edad, Nunca lució o pareció mejor, senior humor, senior socialabilty, Virgil y el humorismo
Posted in Life Enrichment | 1 Comment »
February 8, 2009
Part VII
The hapless senior caddy in the last paragraph of Part VI should not be downcast. He gets a lot of exercise walking and carrying the bulky bag, and this benefits both body and mind; but, in addition, he should stimulate his brain, not to build gray matter, but to promote cognitive acuity. Recently it was determined that mental acrobatics do not actually build brain tissue.
Several years ago a neurologist recommended three activities for mental stimulation and alertness, i.e., playing the game of bridge, studying and speaking a foreign language, and studying and playing a musical instrument. All require concentration and memorizing. Later, other authorities suggested working crossword puzzles, attending lectures, and reading somewhat complex books. They do not recommend first grade reading books such as “My Dog, Spot” where the young scholar reads “I have a dog. His name is Spot. He is a good dog etc.” Every reader of this blog with childhood memories could finish writing the book in high style.
In making this presentation to senior groups in the past I, along with perhaps everyone else, suggested that the computer can stimulate thought processes, and this recently was confirmed by a published opinion that working with a computer is probably the best way to preserve an active mind. No one has confirmed my opinion that writing whether with paper and pencil, word processing or email is also an excellent way to augment the thought process, but I believe it is.
Seniors interested in preserving both mind and body should remember the old axiom “Use it, or lose it. “Only seniors who maintain an ample schedule of intellectual pursuits have a reasonable chance of warding off or delaying mental and emotional stagnation that often attacks in the later decades.
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Tags:aging gracefully, El humorismo, humor, joyful aging, La alegría de la tercera edad, laugh for health, laughter, Life Enrichment, senior humor, senior laughter, three stages of life, Virgil y el humorismo
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February 7, 2009
Part VIII
So far we’ve considered two Ms as guides for seniors: movement or motion and mind or mental activity. Some health advisors believe the third M, mixing or socializing, may be even more important.
In a study of seniors several years ago to determine the incidence of colds and flu during the fall and winter months researchers came to a surprising conclusion. People who lived alone or isolated lives were more likely to suffer from contagious diseases than those who mingled with others or moved in crowds. It seemed that staying away from carriers did not protect them and, and the isolated were even more vulnerable to a few germs than the active people exposed to multiple coughs, sneezes. The theory was that their immune systems were weakened by feelings of loneliness and depression. In 2008 this theory was confirmed which buttresses the importance for socializing.
Reading that prompted, me to visit an isolated gentleman, not to catch a cold or the flu, but to provide some mixing for him, and for me, too. Upon entering his house I noticed something protruding from his ear and said “You have a suppository in your ear.” “Oh,” he exclaimed, ” Now I know where I put my hearing aid.”
The people on the Japanese island of Okinawa are famous for their health and longevity. Their diet of fruits, vegetables and seafood may play a part, but their social cohesion may be even more decisive. Their proverb “One cannot live without the support of others,” can be adopted by all humanity, but according to social scientists there is a bonding in Okinawan society that is not found in the West or elsewhere. Social groups called “connecting circles” hints at this cohesion. Another activity is ” meeting for a common purpose.” While Americans may claim that their meetings have a common purpose, different participants often offer diverse agendas.
Notwithstanding the Okinawans, Americans are basically sociable. Mingling with others lifts our spirits, and as an added bonus, strengthens our immune systems.
As the parting paragraph to this lengthy treatise, I will mention the positive attitude of the man whose 99th birthday party I attended. While leaving I grasped his hand and said “I sure hope I can come back next year and help you celebrate your 100th birthday.” He gazed at me for a few seconds and remarked “I don’t know why you can’t. You look healthy enough to me.”
Tags:aging gracefully, El arte de vender con éxito, El humorismo, humor, joyful aging, La alegría de la tercera edad, La mente.El músculo, La mezcla (asociarse con gente), La tercera edad, laugh for health, laughter, Life Enrichment, Los Placeres de la Tercera Edad, senior humor, senior laughter, three stages of life, Virgil y el humorismo
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