ANDRE BEGIN

Since retiring and moving to the country, I will admit that there have been times when writing humour has been more challenging.

It’s not that I feel my sense of humour has gotten weaker, but in not having daily opportunities to mix and mingle with as many people as I used to, I don’t have as much observational humour material to draw from.

Throughout my career years, I commuted to work, most often by bus, sometimes by car. After work, I ran errands on my way home. During evenings, weekends and holidays, I’d be interacting with my circle of family, friends and neighbours. On weekends, on top of the weekly chores, there would be date nights at restaurants, at the movies, at the theatre.

Funny material wasn’t necessarily derived from my family, friends, colleagues or clients. For me, humour could be found more easily among the strangers orbiting around us. Some of the best material that I truly could not make up is dependent on the randomness of other human beings, going about their business. Let’s face it, some people have a knack of exemplifying randomness to the point of defying common sense.

That being the case, on some occasions, my interactions with random individuals might be a source of humour. On other occasions, humour may originate in a conversation I might overhear between two strangers about how they see and experience life. Other times, humour can be found in the observation of other people’s routines, unaware of how they may have unusual habits that might seem weird to someone else.

Sometimes, humour isn’t directly linked to humans, but it’s the tangled web of administrative hurdles that humans set for each other that turn into eyeball rolling moments.

I am very conscious about not being rude or harsh. It is simply about putting the microscope on human nature, free will and the human experience and laughing about ourselves, as a society. It’s about levity through those “that happened to me” moments to which (we hope) others can relate.

In an effort to remain balanced, I also write pieces that are more self-deprecating in nature, poking fun at my own foibles, but without being too hard on myself. The object is to have a little fun at my own expense without straying into negative self-talk.

Let’s face it, when it’s just me sitting at the writing desk there are funny things that happen such as weird typos or the attention-seeking measures my cat might undertake while I’m trying to focus on writing. Also, adjusting to life in the country has also offered no shortage of stories.

But in the stillness and serenity of retirement of the country, I sometimes lack a key ingredient that I used to take for granted: human interaction which can be the source of so much of the humour I was accustomed to writing about.

Fortunately, when I feel that I might be at a shortage for new material, I’ll take a walk down memory lane remembering some of the funny stories of things that happened along life’s journey that I haven’t yet documented.

And with as many notes that I have accumulated over the years, whether about funny things people have said, strange things some people do, or just the universe having a field day at my expense, I am so happy to have a lifetime of untapped moments that I can share.

For the sake of keeping the humourous energy alive and well, I think the answer is, ironically, to make a concerted effort to step away from the writing desk. That way, it offers opportunity for the funny, random moments in life to find me.

Then it’s my job to set aside the time and headspace to write about it to share with you.

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André