Have you ever taken a drive on the Lewis Grizzard Highway?

"You might be a redneck if....your house has four wheels."
Okay. Okay. That is Jeff Foxworthy, not Lewis Grizzard. Either way, I love it when people make me laugh.
My favorite Grizzard quote is: "If I Ever Get Back to Georgia, I’m Gonna Nail My Feet to the Ground".

Then there is this one, Lewis’ advice to Atlantans in case of nuclear war:
"If you live on the South side of Atlanta, get on I-75 and go south. If you live of the North side of Atlanta get on I-75 and go north. If you are a Yankee get on 285."

For those of you who know me, you may wonder if I have ever laughed in my life, as I can come across a bit stuffy and non-humorous.

Anyway, yeah, I was driving home from Hotlanta about a month ago (NOT on 285), and saw the sign that reminded I was driving on the Lewis Grizzard Highway. [Which, for those Yankees reading this and not understanding the 285 reference, if you are ever on 285, just be sure you get off at some exit, it is a loop around the city.....]

For several months, I have been unemployed, but now working various short term assignments, earning a little cash-fortunately enough to afford cable television.

Cable t.v. gives me access to comedians. Access to comedians to me is like having access to oxygen. So very necessary.

Once, in middle school, my pre-Algebra teacher, Mr. Godley (was honestly his name).....introduced me to a discovery:

"You are the BEST COMMODIAN I have ever heard." He said.

Yes, my so called humor needed to be flushed. Thank Goodness there are professional comedians in the world that can give me some good material, even if it is for my own enjoyment.

I was born without the humor gene, and yes, it is a handicap, but only because I WISH I was humorous.

Okay.

Sometimes though, I find people are just naturally funny when they don't even mean to be. For example, the biggest laugh I ever got in my life was done innocently.

I was sitting in a three hour Contracts class, in law school one summer afternoon. We were going over something terribly complicated, and my teacher who is now a Federal Judge, always related things back to movies or t.v. (how else can you reach a group of spoiled kids?)

That day, Dr. Williams said, "Remember that movie, what was the name? Build it and they will come."

I looked up from my notes and burst out the title: "Close Encounters!"

My 100 classmates burst into uncontrollable laughter!!!!

"NO, girl!! You mean 'Field of Dreams'! Somebody yelled. (I had never even seen Field of Dreams.) I was humiliated, but took it in stride, and in true lawyer spirit, I explained how the guy was building this thing out of mashed potatoes to contact the aliens. "You know, build it and they will come...the ALIENS!"

More LAUGHTER. Some people couldn't stop laughing AT me.

So, Dr. Williams said, trying to fight back his own tears, "We are laughing WITH you, Sandra. What year was that movie from, uh 1977?"

Was 1977 that long ago? Wow. Okay. I was about 20 years behind, I guess. Out of touch with reality sometimes.

It has been seven years now since I graduated from law school, and some of my former classmates, who are now practicing attorneys will ask me if I have watched Close Encounters lately.

Funny. Everybody wants to be a comedian.