I Found My Laugh Again – Thank You, Mr. Napkin Head!
Can you say “shingles”? - - well, I can. That’s where I’ve been for a while, fighting this particular condition and trying to touch as little as possible. If you are not sure what this entails - - look it up for the gory details. But simply put, the chicken pox virus that you had as a leftover from that childhood disease, hangs around and presents itself again when you get older (mostly true elders.) One can have blisters, itching and, sometimes a lot of pain.
My family is legendary for shingles. We are apparently high strung (shingles can be triggered by stress) and many have been known to have shingles at least 2 or 3 times. Well, this is three for me, so let’s hope it’s a charm and the word "shingles" fades from my life forever--unless I am discussing a new roof!
What does happen with shingles is that you become a "stay at home" zombie. If you spent your life working around people who fight diseases, you are savvy about what to do. With shingles doctors recommend you avoid children and elders. Well, that shrinks my world pretty much, and that coupled with one’s energy being sapped makes for a very boring person. You don’t want to go out and infect a lot of people and you really don’t feel like the spring cleaning you should be finishing, so you vegetate. For me that then equals a bad mood which can only be solved by lots of television. I gravitate to Turner Classic Movies, the Hallmark channel, HGTV, and sometimes even a middle of the night infomercial. Yes, one gets that desperate. All this caused me to be grumpier and grumpier.
And that was when I found Jude Law, appearing once again on one of my magical channels in a great movie, THE HOLIDAY. He made me laugh—laugh out loud! And just how did he do that?! By being “Mr. Napkin Head,” of course. There’s a scene in this movie where Jude, (a widower of two years with two little girls) in silliness, does what one does to entertain little girls. He puts a napkin over his face, anchors it with his glasses and starts to talk and look absolutely nutty. BUT, it is hilarious, and I started to laugh till tears rolled down. Jude gave me a respite, a kick start, if you will, to forget my forced imprisonment for a bit, to move a little closer to being nice.
Isn’t it funny how one little thing, one thought, one laugh, one memory can hit your funny bone just right and cheer you up? Well, first of all my hat is off to Nancy Meyers*—the writer, director of this movie. Oh, the times that Nancy has pulled me from the recesses of a slight depression or bad mood. This is the second time Mr. Napkin Head has come to my rescue. I owe Nancy big time and she’s right up there on my “Most Admired” list. Thank you, Nancy, for being so creative as to touch the hearts you do.
And to my reading public—go rent, stream, watch this movie (The Holiday.) I dare you not to laugh at the Mr. Napkin Head scene.
* She has had a hand in (writing/directing): The Intern, It’s complicated, The Holiday, Something’s Gotta Give, The Parent Trap, Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride Part II, Baby Boom, and Private Benjamin to name just a few.