On Humor - Jim Belushi Said it Best

“Don’t EVER lose your sense of humor.” 

The words of the obnoxious Bernie, spoken by Jim Belushi in the 1986 movie, …About Last Night.  Though not the most memorable quote in the film, that sarcastic piece of advice stuck with me from the first time I watched what would become one of my favorite 80s movies. In fact, I think the DVD would make a fitting gift for a certain reader who sent me a rather ugly email last week, regarding my “Disturbing Deer Head Décor” piece.  It seems she misplaced her sense of humor.

Southerners do not always take kindly to Northerners poking fun at hunting. Understandable. However, being a smart-mouthed Yankee, I sometimes can’t help myself. I suppose my first mistake may have been that I submitted that particular piece to several newspapers in my state just prior to the start of deer season, when the men (and possibly some of the women) are purposely growing facial hair for warmth (that would be my excuse), and buying camouflage-print long underwear, so they can “blend” in the event a deer should wander into camp during the wee hours.   Said reader and her husband are both avid hunters. Of course. 

The opening of the reader’s email read, “I was fairly sure I wouldn’t like your article when I started reading it.” Ah, a fan in the making. Do go on.

And she did. 

“I found the comparison of hunters to serial killers quite offensive, by the way. While the statement was most likely in jest, it demonstrates the lack of understanding and intolerance by non-hunters.” Okay, so I made a “Jeffrey Dahmer meets Christopher Lowell” comment in reference to the way hunters keep and stuff various parts of, or sometimes the entire animal, and then channel their inner interior decorator. I am certainly not intolerant of hunting. Eating the meat is one thing. Wearing a dress crafted from it and looking like a filet mignon, Lady Gaga, is another matter.       

In closing she wrote, “BTW: If you’re going to spend $500 on a taxidermy bill, why banish the end result to the basement? Would you buy a $200 pair of shoes and leave them in the closet?” If I ever even own a $200 pair of shoes, believe me, I’ll be sleeping in them. However, I won’t honor the cow who sacrificed his life for my frivolous footwear by . I see the deer heads as trophies or bragging rights. Either way I have no problem with it. Call me picky, I just don’t want to walk under them to serve tea to sweet church ladies who are sitting in my dining room.  

My fan in the making then thanked me for the article and described it as entertaining and thought-provoking. Uh-huh. Thanks, I think.

Anyone who reads my blog posts or articles knows I have an offbeat, sarcastic, dry sense of humor, and it almost always influences my writing. My sense of humor is what gets me through stressful times, sad times, and quite often through the awkward moments of life. Granted, at times it gets me in trouble, but at least I can laugh at myself. I want readers to know that I write nothing with ill intent. My purpose as a writer is to at least get a smile out of you. 

What my newest fan doesn’t know is that I wrote that deer head piece at my desk, which is positioned between two shoulder-mounted bucks and directly in front of a chest freezer full of, what else, deer meat. Besides, I wrote about decorating with animal heads, not so much about the practice of hunting. I can only outrun a herd of angry, armed ZZ Top bearded deer hunters for so long.