FAQ #2 continued ..

Q. I've heard you take tonics?
A. I take one main tonic -- obsidian humor. It's a phrase I coined for a humor as dark as necessary to burst the bubo, the terrible boil, of any inner fester. (I, for instance, had a dear brother born a vegetable because my mother had a barely noticeable case of measles. He was beautiful and utterly witless. It was a family tragedy. In my 40s, I ended up with a friend who could wield humor fiercely. Only, of course, to people who love and play the fierce-teasing game. He teased me privately about my brother using what I now had to dub obsidian humor until I finally just broke down and laughed. I finally finally let go of the grim tragedy, saved what was beautiful about my dead dear brother, and let us both go, winged, into the sunlight.) It was a gift. Not everyone can bear the distilled version of obsidian humor -- you really have to trust someone -- but all degrees of humor are a boon. You can start with mild & build up to chipotle.

Nothing freed me more than an improv show I did called Weasel TV. The premise of this particular skit was that I was at a Salon where the proprietress had taken an Advanced Martha-Stewart class. This Salon was so posh that you didn't even have to bother to lift a spoon to eat strawberry shortcake -- they made it right on your face. I had on a shower cap to protect my tresses. Biscuits and strawberries and whipped cream were smooshed all over my face by the very hilariously vigorous proprietress. NEVER be seen in a shower cap. It is gruesome. We had 3 cameras and the close-ups of my quadruple chins were ghastly. The whole thing blew vanity to smithereens. It was my show tho. I could have deep-sixed the whole excruciating mess. There I was in the edit room alone. My call. It was also excruciatingly funny. I ran the worst [best] shots over & over in slo-mo. When I saw it broadcast I was FREE, I tell you, FREE. I laughed so hard. I couldn't wait til the next month to be yet more preposterous. I realized I would do anything now for a laugh. It's wonderful. I went back to that Salon and had mashed potatoes and gravy and black olives made all over my face. That looked awfully great in slo-mo too.

Tonic Humor and Medicine Calm will heal you.

Pls Check out FAQ #1, Glossary, Blog etc for Tips & Cheer -- Pep Talks ..