Thank God for silliness in a world gone mad



One of the enjoyable things about working in a newsroom is the unusual requests we get from companies wanting us to hype their products or new inventions for free.

We toss most of these, or else tell them to buy an advertisement. But some we hang onto, just for laughs.

A business, Miracle Seat Company, out of Missouri faxed us a promotional piece for its new product, “Miracle Toilet Seat.” Ad copy states:

“The innovative design removes all offensive odors before they escape the room.”

The seat contains an exhaust vent connected to an electric fan. The press release offered editors a “free sample.” I called them and requested my sample. I figured if it actually worked it would solve some of my Christmas gift-giving dilemmas.

So far, the Miracle Toilet Seat has not arrived. I’m not holding my breath or anything else.

However, if I never receive the seat I will consider myself blessed. It provided a good laugh.

I haven’t laughed that hard since our newsroom a few years back received a promotional offer for a “Panty-of-the-Month Club.” I didn’t join because I’m a firm believer that a gal should change her drawers more than once a month.

And then there was, in the pre-Viagra days, a product touted to cure impotence. I don’t want to get too graphic here, but the ex-farmers on our staff said the device resembled something to de-horn cattle, more likely leading to gangrene than a meaningful relationship.

I am eternally grateful to these entrepreneurs. They might not have sold many models of their inventions, but they helped release a lot of those feel-good endorphins one derives from a hearty belly laugh.

My personal remedy for overwhelming tension is to play “A Prairie Home Companion” tapes. For nearly 25 years I’ve relied on Garrison Keillor as my personal laugh therapist. He’s silly. Silly is good. Silly keeps me sane.

One of my darkest days was when the cartoonist Gary Larson retired. I loved Larson’s “Far Side” cartoons that made you laugh at all the scary boogeymen and creepy things such as snakes, cockroaches, grizzly bears and major abdominal surgery.

We cannot trivialize the Mid East meltdown, al-Qaida’s relentless pursuit of worldwide jihad, drought, accidents, drug addiction, alcoholism, crime, domestic violence and every other scourge, real or imagined, but we need all the help we can get just to stave off a collective panic attack.

Keep those weird inventions coming in, y’all. Our fax number is (256) 233-7753.