If I may, I would like to begin today’s column with a question. What is the definition of a conceited dolt? Well, a conceited dolt is a man whose wife thinks he’s funny!
Wish I had one of those. Just kidding, Janis always laughs at my jokes, especially the good ones. A while back we had a speaker come to our Lions Club who was really good, and he was funny. So much so that I had a special request from one of our members, Jerry Boyer, who asked me to do a column on laughter. He said, “people need to laugh,” and that is true, and it’s also scriptural. It says in Proverbs 17:22, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” There is one thing for sure, we can’t be mad at someone when we are laughing.
Back in my younger days, when I was speaking three or four times each week, I used to use a good bit of humor in my talks, mostly to relax the audience and myself. For a joke to be really good, it needs to be used to make a point and not just to be dragged in by the heels. Back in the 1970s when I first started my career, I was a member of the National Speaker Association, and this allowed me to hear and get to know some of the best speakers in the country. One thing I noticed is that the humor speakers got paid more and got invited back more often.
A couple of the best humor speakers back then were Bob Murphy from Nacogdoches, Texas, and Jerry “Knock-him Out John” Clower from Route 4, Liberty, Mississippi. I never heard Jerry Clower in person, although I did drive out of town on Jerry Clower Blvd. when I spoke to the Chamber of Commerce banquet in Yazoo City, Mississippi, where Jerry got his start. The late Bob Murphy became a good friend of mine, and I stole almost all of his jokes.
One year, Dr. Kellar Noggle, executive director for the Arkansas School Administrators Association, asked me to secure Bob as the speaker for their annual meeting. Kellar also asked me to introduce him, which meant I would be sitting at the head table. During Bob’s talk I was feverishly taking notes. He looked over at me and said, “Jim, am I going too fast for you?”
Before I close, let me share one of Bob’s stories with you. I hope you at least crack a smile. “One day this old boy from the city came to visit his country kinfolks, and since he was staying all night and the next day was Sunday, they took him to church. Soon, they got settled in and the service started. After about the first hour and a half of the sermon, this old city boy lost all interest in what was going on and he began to nod off. Well, one of the ‘tappers’ saw him and while he hated to hit a visitor, he also recognized his duty to the church. So, he quietly walked down the aisle, took his long stick, reached over and tapped this city boy on the head. When he did, this old boy sat up and said, ‘Mister, you had better hit me again, I can still hear him’.”
Sad to say, I can relate to that. I am happy to tell you that we have a fantastic preacher, and he only preaches about 20 minutes. Hope what I have had to say today has caused you to smile a little. It would be a better world if we all did, often.
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(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)