Posts tagged uncle paul

Sometimes I laugh at the most inappropriate times. Sometimes I find things funny that would make other people think I am insane. I like to laugh, and I am a very visual person, so when I see something funny or abnormal, I can’t help myself. I laugh. It drives my husband crazy.

My brother is the same way.

And for a long time, I thought we were the only ones who could find humor in just about anything. Until I read this post written by Suzicate. I feel better knowing that there ARE OTHERS OUT THERE LIKE ME! (You see, guys? I’m not crazy after all! Now, if I could just get the voices to quit speaking in Korean…)

So this past weekend, my brother (whose name is also Paul, by the way) and I saw the movie Case 39 (which, by the way, wasn’t the best movie we have ever seen. Not the worst, but not the best, either) and I had a bottle of cherry Coke to sip on. As the movie was playing, I enjoyed sipping on my Coke until it was nearly empty. I remember watching movies in the past and noticing as people in front of me finished their Cokes (yes Cokes, plural. Because in the south, ALL soft drinks are called Cokes), they tilted their heads back and raised their plastic bottles into the air. Well, since I have the attention span of a gnat and get distracted easily, I always notice when people raise their bottles to empty them. So as I was finishing my cherry Coke, out of consideration of those behind me I slouched in my seat, ducked my head into my shoulders, and turned my head slightly to the left. Then I craned my neck, raised the bottle to my lips, and discreetly drank what was left without ever tilting my head back.

And then out of the corner of my eye, I saw the glint of my brother’s pearly white corneas as they reflected images from the movie. I slowly turned to look at him. He was staring at me, his mouth hung open in unabashed amusement. 

“What’s so funny?” I whispered sharply.

“You should have seen what you just looked like.” he responded. “How’d you get your neck to bend like that?” Immediately, I visualized my neck looking not at all unlike Gumby’s after a round with a two-year-old, and then that uncontrollable urge to laugh in places I shouldn’t be laughing hit me like a ton of bricks. You know. The urge to laugh in places like libraries. Or funerals. Or during church services.

And I started laughing on the inside. But it soon became difficult to contain that laugh. Before long, my chest was heaving with silent laughter as I forced myself to keep it quiet. But then as I was laughing, I started BURPING. From the carbonation in my Coke. Yeah. Have you ever heard someone laugh and burp simultaneously? It’s funny, like listening to a toad trying to squeal.

Watching me as I silently laughed and burped these little bursts of burps was too much for Paul, and he soon had a case of the silent giggles as well. He struggled to suppress his laughter but every now and then as he breathed in, his breath would hitch, causing him to SQUEAK!

And every time we looked at each other, it became even harder to control ourselves. We were having a Giggle Fit. A pure, unstoppable Giggle Fit. And the more we tried not to laugh, the harder it was to keep quiet! It got to the point that we were silently laughing so hard that when we tried to take a breath, we would gasp. Loudly!

We both had tears streaming down our faces. AND, the effort it took to keep my laughter quiet caused me to sweat profusely. To the point that not only were my eyes watery, but droplets of sweat were dripping down my temples. I imagined that my forehead was so shiny with sweat that you could watch the reflection of the movie in it!

All of this occurred during a rather morbid part of the movie, when one of the characters was talking about the death of her mother. Talk about an inappropriate time to laugh!

Fortunately, we weren’t loud enough to be disruptive. If anyone had been bothered, they would have thrown their popcorn on us, as is STANDARD around here. Fortunately, the theater was sparsely filled, so there was no one sitting nearby. Next time I go see a movie, though, I won’t be drinking anything with carbonation!