First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

filed in Daily Life

Make Me Laugh, Please!

August 31, 2010 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

A favorite story about my best friend, William, took place right after I’d gotten a disastrous perm, which turned my sleek hair into a frizzy mess. I ran to the phone and called Will, a reliable shoulder to cry on, and sobbed that I’d become Wendy, the Clown. When he saw me later that night, all he could do was laugh. I was stunned. For a couple of seconds, I hated him, but then, I started laughing too. Before long, neither of us could catch our breath. The ability to laugh in the face of misfortune is what I love about Will, and it’s part of what has sealed our friendship for life. He never takes himself too seriously, though I’m still practicing. As an antidote to the gravity of single life, please read Paul Rudnick’s piece in The New Yorker about “settling downward.” It’ll make you laugh.

Image: Jacqueline Lisant, 1964, by Pablo Picasso

• Home
• About
• about-site
• archives
• Art Seen
• Contact
• Subscribe