The 50 Funniest American Writers according to Andy Borowitz

 The 50 Funniest American Writers according to Andy Borowitz

This is such an enjoyable, indeed, funny book, that I have already written, if not fifty, at least twenty notes on it.

The short humorous accounts that I have loved have each been separated and enjoyed again when I wrote about them here: http://realini.blogspot.ro/

On the issue of apology for slavery I have written the last few words, because this is the flash story that ends the book.

And in the era of Trump, a man with so much to ask forgiveness for and yet so little inclination that his narcissistic personality becomes ever more obnoxious, the subject of apology and discrimination has seen a recurrence.

The Pony Problem by Sloane Crosely is another lovely tale included in this compilation…would you like anything else…water, a cookie, maybe a pony? „And it feels in a way like a pony ride for a child, even if I have seen adults riding ponies and that is not good.

Ask the Optimist! By George Saunders raises the question of optimism, but the perception is used for jocular purposes here…when faced with a convertible that the husband has bought, and with a liking for bonnets, one needs to buy a whole lot of them…

Your Three Wishes by David Owen were funny in the details, terms and conditions under which they apply and for reminding me of a joke that has the three wishes: I want to live in America, I want to be rich and finally, not work a day in my life again- the trouble being that with the last wish, the poor man is send back to his original place- where “they love work, they can watch people work for hours”.

What I’d Say to the Martians by Jack Handey uses satire in mocking the human race, with its excessive violence- the fool in the white House keeps talking about the Little Rocket Man, the calm before the storm and destroying North Korea…there are some leaders that we have the ability to elect that would make Martians think we are so stupid.

In I Ain’t Scared of You Bernie Mac deals with the theme of death, approached with jocularity, but this departure is of course still a subject worth exploring and coming to terms with:

-          “Layin’ up there in the fuckin’ coffin, and we gotta go see this motherfucker, and he dead for three days.”

If I Were in Charge of the Networks by George Carlin elucidates the meaning of a few words that we –and more importantly those working with the Networks- use in the wrong way: prodigal, sour grapes, celibate, chastity, alternative, option, light year and acronyms among others are explained, with the adage: “I say fuck popular usage”.

Oh, and an eggplant or another vegetable or fruit for that matter cannot be healthy, unless it does pushups…it is healthful.

Tips for Women… by Dave Barry presents some scenes which are familiar, if I would not go as far as to say that all men are like that.

Elaine thinks about the six months she has been going out with Roger and talks about it, with Roger worrying about the car, the mechanics that did not do a proper job, the need to tell them a thing or two.

Psychology research establishes that there are huge differences between male and female preoccupation with various subjects, like sex for instance, which is on the mind of a woman many fewer times less than on the mind of a man.

Vacation ’58 by John Hughes has been the basis for a comedy and it has many hilarious scenes within, even if or when an older aunt dies, with a car jumping off the end of the road, attacks by the Native Americans, Walt Disney being shot, Dad sleeping at the wheel of the car, having to pay all the money he has for the changing of a tire, then robbing a place to get some dollars, being chased by the police, forgetting aunt’s dog tied to the car and then dragging him to death on the road and I have surely forgotten quite a few other incidents…

The 50 Funniest American Writers is part of a group of works that I have found so enticing that I placed them aside, to enjoy later, much later.

One of the passages is written by Lenny Bruce, a name familiar from the movie Lenny, with Dustin Hoffman in the leading role...

Lenny talks about other comedians and my best guess is that he is teasing them or even worse, mocking them.

He writes about Jerry Lewis and his impersonations of Japanese people with strange teeth and weird glasses, which appear grotesque, not funny.

The comedian moves on to his tour of some of the conservative parts of America, where the man who introduces him tries to minimize the impact of the jokes and people walk out on him, never mind Lenny Bruce.

In some of these small towns there is nothing to do and hard to find anything noteworthy happening, with the local taxi driver asking the guests where to get laid…

-              What do you do when someone shows you their house is a good question

-  Lenny says the obvious- yes, that is a nice cabinet there

-              Have you seen a cleaner toilet?

-              No

Some issues are serious, like the use of certain words that are dirty at one historical moment and then others fill that role

-              Would you come to my hotel- this is dirty

-              Come over to my trailer- trailer was not dirty then

-              Will you have a cup of coffee? - But having a cup of coffee would become a dirty expression later on