I had heard of the dreaded occasions when people in your audience “fall-out.” It is one scary moment when you hear, “Stop! Is there a doctor? Call 911!” I was in the middle of a punch line when someone in my audience just fell over. I could not tell who it was. The good news is that it turned out to be a “low-sugar” issue but at the time no one knew. Laughing yourself to death may be a good thing!
After several minutes, I decided to continue my presentation but what to say? I knew the right thing to do was to say, “Why don’t we pray?” I started the prayer with, “Oh, Lord bless this”…..I paused since I could not tell if it was a man or a woman. ….. “uh…..MAN as HE….” Then, from the bowels of the audience I heard, “That is Aunt Eula-Mae!” I just wanted that stage to open and swallow me whole. If that was not bad enough, I said it AGAIN. And again, I heard, “That is Aunt Eula-Mae!” By the grace of God, I managed to ease back into my speech with some light humor and pick up where I left off.
At the end of the speech I approached the now perky “Eula Mae” who was a dear and thanked me for the prayers. Not thinking, I handed Eula-Mae my book, “Bury Me with My Pearls.” Ouch! Maybe my other book, “Bare Feet to High Heels” would have been more appropriate. Then she said, “Honey, you was too funny! I’m just gonna tell everyone that I most laughed myself to death.” I heard the conversation as the niece who corrected me said to Eula Mae, “I told you I would buy you a book. You did not have to fall-out to get yourself a free one.”
It is moments like these when the power of humor and a good attitude are blessings in life. My book, “Bury Me with My Pearls” addresses the importance of being able to always laugh at yourself. This is a priceless pearl we should all desire to cultivate on our “strand of experiences” called life. #pearlsbook, #pearlsoflaughter
