“Laughter is the best medicine.”  A cliché?  Perhaps.  Could this really be the cure or is it temporary healing?

Deciding that I needed a night of laughter.  A movie was picked.  “My big fat greek wedding 2”.  If you know me, and there are a few friends and family who do, you know that:

1.  I will make a night happen.  Alone or with company.
2. I love impromptu plans.  I love an impromptu life.

I think I learned the first one when I was in college.  It was the first time a friend backed out of going for a movie.  I did wallow in the irritation and anger for awhile but then the most amazing thing happened.  I went for that movie by myself.  I have never forgotten that movie.  “The Truth about cats and dogs.”  I remember it being a turning point when I learned that the theatre is one of my sanctuaries and I love being there with or without company.  So I thank this friend for this lesson.

Impromptu.  There’s an unexplainable tingling excitement when you do something impromptu.  It goes against all that you expect and is expected of you.  You reject the mundane.  You shut the voices of reason and fear up.  Time is not in your favor to change your mind.  This moment is now or never.

But I digress.  Last night, a friend responded to my request for company for the movie on Facebook.  We found ourselves giggling at our weeknight escape.  In reality, not much of an escape after all.  Having a little time on hand before the start of the movie, we walked the empty streets of Boise, ok, so maybe it was just one street, looking for a coffee shop.  In Boise we trust.  In Boise we trust not for any coffee shop to be open in a decent location past the divine time of 7pm at the latest.  For once, this was indeed a blessing.  If not for this mini bump in the plan, we would not have stumbled into Liquid Laughs for some impromptu “liquid” and “laughs”.  My liquid of choice was Kahlua.  This is my exception being a non-coffee drinker myself.  After all, who am I to refuse the nectar of Mexico.  Kahlua may have been my first drink in my life.  Or perhaps it was Baileys.  It was lifetimes ago.  I shall refrain from stating the age since I know my girls will devour my blog one day in search of evidence to support their arguments.  Either way, it was a drink that was mixed with chocolate milk.  Let me tell you.  NOT A GOOD IDEA.  Chocolate milk gives you that warmth of childhood and the alcohol gives you the status of superheroine.

The laughs were good.  Maybe with the alcohol coursing through my veins, triggering my humour.  What makes a person stand up in front of a bunch of strangers, urging and silently hoping for belly-aching laughs?  It is beyond my comprehension.  I am the perfect example of how NOT to be a public speaker.  My face tomato reddens.  My hands drip like they have a tap of their own.  I become the queen of vibrato.  To give you an idea of how much I dread it.  Recently, I wrote MY 3-line speech to thank my 9-year old’s basketball coach and I got the 9-year old to read it out!  Google stage fright and do not be surprised if you find this!

Can you tell by now that digression is my super power?  Blogging obviously isn’t good for a recovering addict of digression.  My cool mummy friend and I made our way to the theatre.  And because this is beautiful Boise, we were two of the four present for the movie.  This was our ticket to our rambunctious laughter throughout the movie.  There were moments of “awwws” and “oh nos” thinking of our own girls growing up but the theme of the movie was fun and fun we had.  I’m not quite sure what the other 2 patrons thought of us.  I didn’t hear a peep from them.  I guess, either they didn’t have a “funny streak” in them or boisterous, fun-loving Greeks are a turn on and they were making some “OPA” of their own at the back of the theater.  To each his own, I say.

So back to my original questions.  Is laughter the best medicine?  The ultimate cure?  My jury is still out.  But one thing I am sure of.  It heals, one laugh at a time.  Did you know that there is something called laugh therapy?  I have been witness to one such session.  As my father and I walked past a public park in Delhi 16 years ago, we saw a bunch of men standing in a circle, and at intervals breaking out in loud, planned and timed laughter.  I won’t lie.  It scared the living toot out of me.  Fearing that they were possessed, I questioned my dad.  Without flinching, he explained it to me. You see…..my dad was privy to such unique (strange) practices.

If you should feel inclined, watch this YouTube clip and laugh along!  Prescribing 200 mg of laughter, twice a day for as long as you live, it is Dr. Bavani.  Over and out.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QEZkb97rRtI