Battle of the Blogs - Humor Beware!

In the early fall of 2010 both my daughter and I began to create our blogs.  Since that time we have been engaged in a running (humorous) battle to determine who has had the most "hits," what countries are reading our blogs, etc.  I must confess that she has a substantial lead over me at the moment in "hits."  She has suggested that perhaps I need to be more humorous in my blog - a gift that she greatly possesses.  (You can access her blog - Grace Lines - by going to atticusmom1.blogspot.com.)  It's well worth a read.  She said that I should deviate once in a while from my comments on the state of the world, politics, etc. and let people know about the funny things that have happened to me in my life.

Well, I've decided to take her up on her challenge.  Obviously I did not think all of the things I will mention as having happened to me were humorous at the time but in retrospect they have their humorous side (hope you may see it that way, too).  So, here goes:

One of the first things she reminded me of was when I was about four or five years old and fell out of our family car while it was turning the corner following Sunday Mass.  I landed on the street we had just turned from (luckily I was clad in a warm and padded snowsuit and luckily the car behind us saw me in time).  Otherwise, of course, you wouldn't be reading this today.  (Some of my escapades are illustrated through the fine work of illustrator Randy Rumpf.)

A few years later I was with my parents while my mother was making visits to parishioners of our parish to collect for an upcoming parish event.  We went to a farm within the parish and while she was doing her work I decided to walk in the farmyard.  All of a sudden I was toppled over by a chicken who ran across my face.  For sometime afterward I was afraid of chickens.  I don't remember stopping the eating of chicken but "don't let the live ones near me!"

Because of poor teeth that I had as a youngster I had to begin wearing a full upper denture while in my 20's.  During summers while in college I would work in a Catholic bookstore in our community.  One day when there was a lull in business I sat in a corner of the store looking at one of the books when I had a tremendous sneeze erupt.  It was so forceful it blew the teeth out of my mouth and there they were on the floor staring up at me.

In later life I had a few interesting experiences.  We own a summer place in Schroon Lake, New York (a wonderful little town).  One summer I was mowing the lawn when all of a sudden my right leg simply broke through the ground and I was beginning to fall in our cedar-log cess pool.  Lucky for me I was holding on to the mower or I might have breathed my last in a most uncomfortable place.

During my working years with the State of New York we would often attend conferences concerning our field (alcohol and substance abuse).  One year we were in Syracuse, New York at the Syracuse Hotel.  Also staying there at the time was the great performer Stevie Wonder.  We had a small group meeting in the lobby one day when he passed by and I waved to him - think about it.  I waved to Stevie Wonder!

My daughter often chides me about my eating habits and especially my sense of fashion.  In the former case we were dining in a restaurant while on a trip when the creamy shrimp dish I was savoring fell partly on my lap (not totally protected by a napkin).  She then affectionately coined the term for me of "butter pants!"

Sometimes I would wear particular outfits just to get a rise out of her (such as on Christmas Day when I would wear red bell bottoms with a bright green turtleneck - it was Christmas after all!).  The following depicts what she would call "the Hook Look."

So I've done some silly things in my life and have had silly things happen to me.  In an earlier post I did on laughter I said that it was a healthy thing to be able to laugh at ourselves for too often we are too serious with ourselves (and sometimes with others).  Hope I've been able to do that here.

So now I've answered her challenge.  Let's see who gets the most "hits" now (and if you want to click on this blog five times each day for the next two weeks - well, after all, all's fair in love and blogs!).  Hope you had a good laugh!