Finding the Funny

Is clean humor a dying art?

I love reading. I love books. And this weekend I went to window shop at a notable bookstore and perused my favorite sections- Sci-fi, crafts, and humor. I found a lot of good choices in the latter two, but was shocked when I went into the dwindling aisle that was the humor section.

Almost every title had a prominent curse word in it. I'd say 80% of the books in that section were not family friendly, and yet there were family friendly books mixed in with them, like Fox Trot and Baby Blues.

Even after seeing a title that looked funny (based on the What to Expect When You're Expecting series- but from the stork and baby's point of view), the first sentence bore a word that begins with the sixth letter of the alphabet- I shut the book without reading further- it's not something I would ever give to a new mother.

I was appalled by the crassness of it all. And those books that weren't full of curses were just plain stupid. The humor was either based on rudeness, or sight gags that made me wince. And I know there's some clean humor out there, but not on these shelves. Many of the clean humor titles were in the religious section, because the writer's were Christians. But who would think to look in that section for humor? Not me- I had to ask the customer service desk to help find it!

Then it hit me. There was really nothing prominently displayed for the adult reader who was looking for clean humor. No Erma Bombeck. No Bill Cosby. It's like truly funny stuff was wiped clean off the planet, and all we had left was schmutz; much like someone ate the yummy banana and left us with the icky black peel.

I think I know why God put me on this planet. To write humor books. And who am I to deny God? So guess what I'm going to do- I'm going to be an author. There, I said it.

Wow, that was pretty scary to write!

I've already thought up several book titles, even as I write this. Brainstorming (at least for me) is easy. Writing books is hard. Fun, but hard. But I really feel that I've finally found my niche in the big Circle of Life. Now I just have to stop shaking in my sneakers and do it.

I want to help people find the funny in things. In all situations. In the everyday problems that can bring us down. I want to make parents laugh in such a way that they can share the humor with their kids. I want to make the world smile.

And at the bookstore, I want people to see my book among the schmutz and exclaim "Finally! Some good, clean humor!"