Humor, a Funny Place

     I love reading about humor. I possess some old books on the subject, like Isaac Asimov's Treasury of Humor, and Exit Laughing by Irvin Cobb. Another 2" volume on the shelf is The Oxford Book of Humorous Prose. I got those for my last hip replacement surgery recovery, but they're not keepers. (Let me know if you want them!)
     Humor is so personal, so cultural. I enjoy some of the BBC comedies on PBS. They require that I pay attention, especially to the British English nuances.
     In the late 70s, early 80s, we lived in Asia. Our Thai leader called Acharn, which basically means "teacher," loved to tell the story of baptizing new believers in a northeastern village. The only water deep enough was the pig trough. What tickled this usually solemn man was mimicking the pig sounds. "Oot! Oot!" and then he giggled. Again, "Oot! Oot!" and more laughter.
     To my western mind it wasn't all that funny. Perhaps, I thought, like much situational humor, you just had to be there.