I love to make people laugh. That’s something that strikes me as being a little strange when I consider my personality. I really think of myself as a bit of an introvert, although that might surprise some people who know me. However, there are a handful of times that I remember especially well when I consider getting big laughs. Of those times, the first ranks near the top.

I was around six I think, and the whole family, including my parents, two brothers, and my sister were eating dinner together. Mom was a pretty good cook, and took pride in putting out a well balanced meal. This particular evening one of the vegetables on the table was squash. I had never seen it before, but since I already had experience with vegetables I didn’t like, I figured anything new only deserved suspicion until proven innocent. Seeing that I had been given something plantlike to eat, I proceeded to give it the evil eye. Looking up from my plate, I looked at my mom and asked, “What is this?” She said, “That’s squash.” In response, I exclaimed, “Squashed something!” It brought the house down, the house at that time being my family. I’m sure it struck me at the time that turning words and their meaning around in surprising and fun ways can make people laugh, almost in spite of themselves. Ever since that first taste of success, I’ve been looking for ways to make it happen again. I don’t know who is having more fun, myself or the people laughing.