APRIL 2 • 2020 | 5
W
hen Passover
arrives next week,
we’
ll have to edit
our Hagaddahs to read, “Why
is this night, day, next several
weeks and months different
than from all
other nights,
days, next
several weeks
and…” — you
get the point.
Coronavirus,
please, just pass
over already.
As I’
m writing this,
Michigan Gov. Whitmer is
officially announcing our
state’
s “Stay at Home” order.
Had she announced this prior
to Feb. 2, would that have
prohibited groundhogs from
emerging from their burrows
to see their shadows? An
“attempt” at some levity. Too
soon? This leads me to my
“State of Humor” address.
There’
s absolutely nothing
funny about people who’
ve
contracted the coronavirus
and, in worst-case scenarios,
are fighting for their lives.
There’
s nothing funny about
the economic pain it has
inflicted, the lost jobs, the
educational disruption or a
senior who languishes alone
in a care facility.
Usually we abide by the
old adage, “Tragedy plus
time equals comedy.” After
traumatic events like 9-11, we
build in, albeit subjectively,
an adequate amount of time
before infusing humor back
into our daily lives. But today
we are in unprecedented terri-
tory for comedy.
The sheer number of jokes,
YouTube videos, memes, etc.,
relating to the coronavirus
I’
ve received on my
computer and smart
phone is proof that the
normal unwritten rule
of “too soon” for jokes
edict has been lifted.
And within reason,
that’
s OK. Of course,
there’
ll always be some who
take it too far.
The virus has created a
void in many of our usual
day-to-day go-to sources
for comedy. Production on
Saturday Night Live is on hold.
Every late-night talk show has
shut down. So naturally we
are turning to other forms of
comic relief.
I have two groups of break-
fast buddies, who, now that
we are self-quarantining, are
reduced to texting each other
rather than eating with each
other. The chain of commu-
nications has included inter-
esting, humorous and even
irreverent discussions about
how you can turn bras and
yarmulkes into face masks.
Then there’
s a new genre
of humor that has taken the
country by storm … toilet
paper jokes! Perhaps you’
ve
seen the photo of a toilet
paper holder that has been
resupplied with an infa-
mously long CVS receipt. A
YouTube video is making the
rounds of a guy pulling up in
his car to a shady “drug deal-
er” type character looking
to score a toilet paper deal.
I saw that and couldn’
t wipe
the smile off my … face. (See
what I did there?)
A Facebook post suggest-
ed replacing a word in your
favorite movie titles with
the words “toilet paper.” I
don’
t believe I’
ll be able to
find any of the following On
Demand…Dances with Toilet
Paper, ET: The Extra TP
, Gone
with the Toilet Paper, The Toilet
Paper Chase, The Silence of the
Toilet Paper, The Wizard of Toilet
Paper and Yankee Doo Doo
Toilet Paper — Doodle, sorry.
The coronavirus is no
laughing matter, but it mat-
ters that we keep laughing.
While your Passover table and
finding the afikomen will no
doubt be reduced to a virtual
FaceTime experience, please
take the time to add a funny
bone next to the shank bone.
From there, just take it day-
enu by dayenu.
In the meantime, I’
m pre-
paring to watch one of my
favorite Passover-time movies
— The 10 Commandments. The
question is, this time when
the Lord says unto Moses:
“Go to Pharaoh and tell him
thus saith the Lord, God of
the Hebrews, let my people
go,” will they have enough toi-
let paper? Hey, that happened,
give or take around 1400
BCE, so that joke is not too
soon!
Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voice-
over/acting talent, speaker,
and emcee. Visit his website
at laughwithbigal.com,“Like” Al
on Facebook and reach him at
amuskovitz@renmedia.us.
for starters
It’s Still OK to Laugh
Views
Alan
Muskovitz
letters
Future Diarists
Children need to know that they
are making history and their
stories must be remembered by
future generations. All kids ought
to keep a diary — digital or ana-
logue using pen and paper.
Keep a record of conversations,
activities, how they organized
their days. Include video clips
from the news, personal reflec-
tions, how they managed over
Pesach. What they did to keep up
with school.
In the future, these diaries will
be used by future generations as
examples of resilience.
Anne Frank’
s diary was created
when she was in isolation, where
for two years she was unable to
leave her attic. Her diary has
become a beacon of survival. Our
kids should emulate her example.
— Laurie Rosenberg
Woodford Green, UK
COVID Hard on Seniors
Living in a senior residence, we
are now mainly in our apart-
ments. The dining room is
closed, so meals are delivered
and eaten alone. Visitors are
restricted and all activities have
been canceled. That being said,
[we are] staying in contact with
friends via phone and Facebook
and catching up on chores.
— Flora Miskin Castleman
Via Facebook
CORRECTIONS
In the March 26, 2020 obituary
of Rita Haddow, Avern Cohn’
s
wife, Lois, was omitted as a sur-
vivor and Karen Daitch should
have been listed as a grandchild.
The article “One Day At A Time”
(March 26, 2020) misquoted a
Yiddish phrase from Temple
Israel Rabbi Jen Lader. The cor-
rect phrase is Pikuach nefesh (to
save a life).
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05_DJN040220_POV Opinion Pages.indd 5
3/30/20 11:47 AM
3/30/20 11:47 AM