Laugh - My Tribute to Funny or Die

Laugh. You didn’t lose your job today.

I have a laughing Buddha on my desk. I have three more in the entrance area to my house. I bought those over a decade ago, when I was a phase in my life when my mantra was “adaptation or die.”

That’s where I am now. There’s where the country is now.

I keep repeating the old mantra, “Never say die.” So, I guess my only choice is adaptation.

I’m not sure where many of you are right now, in light of this gloom and doom economy. I’m frustrated. I’m a struggling comedian and my husband could potentially lose his job. Everyone I talk to has either lost money in stock, lost a job or lost both. Some have even lost a spouse over the stress of the current economic times.

I couldn’t image what life would be without a best friend. Especially now.

The government, or the media, whichever you like to call that powerful propaganda machine that tells us how to think, is calling this a recession. I think they are full of shit. My father lived through the depression … he can see that this is a depression. OK, it was funny when defining whether the ex-president or governor inhaled or didn’t. But to “define” a financial mess is absolutely ludicrous. We’re in a depression. My friends are depressed, my parents are depressed, and the country is depressed. We’re in a screwed up depression. Period. End.

Where is this all taking us? It seems like there is so much gloom in the air that it’s sometimes challenging to breathe. How do we cope, how do get by. Well, I refuse to die. I’ve lost money in investments. My family needs to prepare for the worse, which means that I’m going to have to pass on a few “great gigs for free beer” in order to build up a savings in case my husband loses his job.

It sucks.

And I’m one of the lucky ones. I have friends that are moving their entire families back in with their parents. Now THAT’S a blow to the ego. My heart goes out to those folks.

How do we get through this? What’s the answer?

Well, my first response is get drunk and cry like a baby. Works for me every time.

But, there comes a time when we need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. That’s the American way. That’s our ideology. That’s what Americans are famous for … that and Hollywood … oh, and porn. But, we ARE famous for the bootstrap thing. That is why so many people want to move here … because, dammit, we really believe that any thing is possible in this country. Anyone can be the next Will Ferrell, Tina Fey … or God forbid, the next Donald Trump, comb over and all.

Then, I think we need to turn to our own laughing Buddha. Things may suck. We may lose our jobs, we may lose opportunity because we’re swamped, keeping our financial heads above water. But, is it so bad that we can’t laugh – or at least smile?

There’s a lot to be said for laugher. It creates endorphins. It makes us feel good. For some, it encourages us to pop a cold one and relax a little, and bask in the feeling of denial. Nothing wrong with that.

I’m indebted to Funny Or Die. Being a writer having to step away from the stage and laptop for a while, I’m indebted that I still have a cheap place to go with a beer to kick back for a while. I’m indebted to the cool, invisible friends I’ve made here that support and encourage me. I’m indebted to Will Ferrell and the creators of Funny or Die, because, amidst this crappy environment that our country is living in, I have a place to laugh and make a complete ass out of myself.

So, my dear FOD friends, lets put our heads down, let’s get through this screwy financial mess, and in the meantime, let’s keep laughing.

Comments

[Jim]

I can completely relate. The summer's rising gas prices threw my holiday spending into a slump. Our country is in a mess. I guess all we can do is rise above it. Great blog, Gab.

[KatiePotatie]

Gabrielle, you write so eloquently. This is such a powerful message to me. Thank you.