Wanted: MWF Seeks Humor Help

Jesse says I laugh like a juvenile delinquent. I snicker quietly as though running from the law after luring livestock onto frozen ponds in Newcastle, throwing biscuit dough at cars in Norman, or derailing a Burlington Northern train in Winslow. He’s so specific that I can only imagine he has first hand knowledge of such a giggle. For me, this was the inevitable evolution from the “look at me” cackle I honed in high school. At that time, I was so self-conscious that I thought the best laugh would be to mock laughter itself (a high pitched, literal “ha ha ha”). But that wasn’t as cool in college and, after a disastrous flirtation with a guffaw, I sucked the laughter inward.

I wish I could laugh like my Aunt Mary (pronounced nasally “ain’t may-re”). It’s a raucous twinkle that compels men to empty their wallets from across a crowded room. The more descriptive, uh, description comes from my other aunts who claim Mary morphed Zsa Zsa Gabor and Mae West in her vocalizations. Add some South Carolina flavor and you have one fabulous laugh.

Jesse snorts. I love his laugh. In fact, you can catch his laugh at You Tube as he films me hunched over cold and trying to be invisible (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqTV5gKTSh8) and ready for bed trying to be invisible (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heLzH2bSni4&NR).

In both clips, I’m laughing. No really. You just can’t hear it. I’m trying desperately to avoid filming, otherwise my laughter would be motionless. After I revolutionize my laugh, Jesse suggests I employ some body language. At this point, I remain still so as to avoid the cops, er, I mean to draw less attention to myself. It’s time for me to give a hoot and shed my laughter paralysis. I’m looking for suggestions for both a solid vocalization AND gesticulation to show I appreciate good humor.