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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