Long-suffering readers don't need to hear me go on another rant about the foolishness of mountain bike culture. Suffice it to say that I let myself get sucked into a bit of that culture the other day, and paid the price by going over the handlebars and smacking onto desert gravel. That was better than rocks! But the camera paid the ultimate price.
I was hurting more than I ever had, from a bicycle accident. But bruises are better than broken bones. The bruises were concentrated on the chest/ribs and the hip.
A couple nights later I was watching an episode from the third season of Wagon Train, with Mickey Rooney as the guest star. The title was "The Greenhorn." Rooney plays a newbie in Missouri getting outfitted for the western journey. Of course he did all the things a greenhorn should do: overloading his wagon and overdressing.
Although the episode was only mildly humorous, the context of Quartzsite made it hilarious! Just think of all those RV newbies over there a few miles, standing in lines, overloading their rigs, and selecting rigs with extreme features.
I knew that laughing hurt my bruises, so I tried to suppress laughter while watching the episode. It was like suppressing laughter in church or at funerals. I laughed, hurt, and then laughed more.
Perhaps it was just coincidence, but the bruises started hurting less after that. I was able to sleep on my side, and therefore, got quite a bit of sleep that night.
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So chalk another one up for the idea that the funniness/beauty/impact/etc. of a thing depends less on the thing than on the setup, that is, the context.
I was hurting more than I ever had, from a bicycle accident. But bruises are better than broken bones. The bruises were concentrated on the chest/ribs and the hip.
A couple nights later I was watching an episode from the third season of Wagon Train, with Mickey Rooney as the guest star. The title was "The Greenhorn." Rooney plays a newbie in Missouri getting outfitted for the western journey. Of course he did all the things a greenhorn should do: overloading his wagon and overdressing.
Although the episode was only mildly humorous, the context of Quartzsite made it hilarious! Just think of all those RV newbies over there a few miles, standing in lines, overloading their rigs, and selecting rigs with extreme features.
I knew that laughing hurt my bruises, so I tried to suppress laughter while watching the episode. It was like suppressing laughter in church or at funerals. I laughed, hurt, and then laughed more.
Perhaps it was just coincidence, but the bruises started hurting less after that. I was able to sleep on my side, and therefore, got quite a bit of sleep that night.
_____________________________________
So chalk another one up for the idea that the funniness/beauty/impact/etc. of a thing depends less on the thing than on the setup, that is, the context.
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