Lorenzo Rosebaugh in 1971 wedding
The death of my friend Father Lorenzo Rosebaugh has brought all kinds of persons from the past and present together and produced a few laughs. One of the persons we reconnected to was a photographer in those days who has all kinds of black and white photos of the Milwaukee 14 and friends from the late sixties and early seventies. They are on display at Memory Pictures of the Milwaukee 14 of past. Besides looking younger, which we were 40 years ago, everyone in the black and white pictures looks so animated. We were having some serious fun. Lorenzo was clean shaven with short hair in those days, when many were not. Modern-day pictures have him with beard and long hair, when many are not.
It is good to have laughs in life, especially when tragedy strikes. I have three or four friends that have an email joke ministry and they keep me laughing. I pass jokes from one to another one in the group but seldom share them with others. The Jokes and Quotes page of www.nonviolentcow.org is big on quotes but light on jokes, though I receive many each day. People have accused me of being ‘too serious’ and I guess I am. I need to put my intellectual appreciation of humor into practice. Look for fresh and funny jokes on this web site.
A friend from Church took me to the Milwaukee Brewers game tonight. Although I live within walking distance of the ballpark this was my first game of the year. It was a lousy night for the Brewers so my enjoyment came in people-watching. I was surprised by the great number of young adults at the game, drinking beer and on cell phones, talking, texting or twittering during the game. In the pre-cell-phone days I was a teenager going to ballgames of the Milwaukee Braves, whose stadium was also near my childhood home. I do not remember what we did for enjoyment when the game was boring like tonight. I do remember one opening day game sneaking into the ball park too early, being kicked out and sneaking into the game for a second time. However, we were bored in the middle of the game and left. Maybe that is why I always thought baseball was too slow a sport. Nowadays there is action all around you, in conversations, score boards, promotions and the ubiquitous cell phone. Perhaps baseball has made a great comeback as America’s pastime because you can now have a few laughs even at a boring and slow game.
Norman Cousins, the former editor of Saturday Review was diagnosed with an incurable painful disease. When treatments did not work he decided to closet himself in his apartment for a month and just laugh all day. After a month he returned to the doctor and he was cured. When the Doctor asked him what he did he replied: “All I did was to laugh myself to health.” He became known as the man who cured himself through laughter, and was even appointed a faculty member of the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, although he was not a doctor. (See Norman Cousins, Laughter best medicine).
So in good times and bad times seek humor and you will find some serious laughs.
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