The Poem That Changed My Life

When I was a kid, and felt like I needed to get out of the house, I would jump on my bicycle, pedaling along while contemplating the big important philosophical questions running through my eight year old brain, such as “Why can’t people just be happy all the time?” I would usually end up at the base PX (my father was a career Air Force officer) in front of the magazine stand, where one day I discovered MAD Magazine. In one issue, I found THE POEM THAT CHANGED MY LIFE. It was an absurd riff on something I had been made to learn in school, and it read:

“Thirty days has Septober

April, June and No Wonder,

All the rest have peanut butter,

Except for my grandmother

Who has a little red tricycle.”

And there was a goofy little picture of a grandmother on a tricycle. This poem was a revelation! Deep in my DNA I recognized a “masterpiece” -- a simple piece that turned conventional logic on its head and… made me laugh. Made me happy! I could do stuff like this I realized! I could make other people laugh. Maybe people can’t be happy all the time, but helping them laugh, as my grandmother would say, “It couldn't hurt!” And I imagined her on a little red tricycle, and I laughed again.

Music and Improv

Music and Improv –

I’ve been talking a lot lately to my students at Laughter for a Change about improv and music. In part, because it seems that a lot of the improvisers I work with are also musicians.

The other night, I was talking to a new student (a wonderful addition to the school with a natural talent for listening) who also plays drums. He studied jazz in school. I talked about how I’ve been influenced in my work in improvisational theater by the music of John Coltrane. “Listen to Coltrane” I said. “You can hear him reaching for the next new sound in virtually every note.”

This morning I found out that, after a brief illness, a dear friend has passed away. Now, a few hours after this sad news, I am writing, while I’m listening to another great improviser, Johann Sebastian Bach – Janos Starker’s version of Bach's Cello Sonatas.

As the music fills the space, I am moved, comforted, and grateful for the music in my life. Laughter is music too. When we improvise, we must play like musicians. Filling in the spaces when we are needed, supporting each other because – because life is too short for anything else.