Old-time Humor

Someone forwarded me an email on Bob Hope.  Many of you are probably too young to remember him.  He was an actor and comedian who could keep an audience laughing for hours and never be obscene or use foul language or gestures.  He entertained troops in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam War.  He had one wife (Dolores) and was happily married to her for 69 years.  He was still telling jokes at age 100:  “I don’t feel old.  In fact, I don’t feel anything until noon.  Then it’s time for my nap.”

On giving up his early career as a boxer:  “I ruined my hands in the ring.  The referee kept stepping on them.”

On never winning an Oscar:  “Welcome to the Academy Awards or, as it’s called at my home, ‘Passover’.”

On Presidents:  “I have performed for 12 presidents and entertained only 6 of them.”

On receiving the Congressional Gold Medal:  “I feel very humble, but I think I have the strength of character to fight it.”

On his family’s poverty:  “Four of us slept in the one bed.  When it got cold, Mother threw on another brother.”

On failures:  “I would not have had anything to eat if it wasn’t for the stuff the audience threw at me.”

It is rare to hear a comedian who can tell one joke after another and keep you laughing until your sides hurt --and doesn’t leave you feeling dirty by the time the curtain drops. 

God gave us the ability to laugh.  He knew laughter is good medicine and good for the soul.  Laughter increases endorphins!  Scripture says God laughs.

Bob Hope had a God-given gift to make people laugh and feel good.  I miss him.  Just thinking about him makes me smile.