Using Humor
Having an amputation is often frustrating. People do not understand. Can start to feel bad about themselves at times. Humor often helps alleviate some of this negative feeling. One way to add in some humor is to tell some “stories” about what caused your amputation. I’d only suggest this as a last resort, though. Here is my story where, although I was young, I was using my head. (Just a note- this is the same story I share in my podcast on the ThinkQuest website.)
Since I was a little girl, I have always enjoyed going to the town pool during the summer. One day, when I was about four years old, I had a rather interesting encounter. A little boy about my age saw my arm. He asked me what had happened. I told him, “It’s just the way that I was born,” as I had told so many before. This answer didn’t work for him, though. The little boy did not understand or accept that fact that I had been born differnetly. He followed me around the entire pool. He repeatedly asked the same question. It started to bother me after a while. Looking back, I wonder how I put up with it for so long. Finally, I couldn’t stand him anymore. I looked over and the deep end of the pool and smirked. “See the deep end overthere?” I said, “There’s a shark there! And it BIT MY ARM OFF!” Believe it or not, the little boy believed this response! He started to cry and ran to his mother. After that, I have to admit that I never saw him at the town pool again, and I went there a lot. To this day, I’ve never seen the little boy! I must have terribly scared him. In a way, I feel a little bit sorry for my reaction. Mostly, though, I feel that I did the right thing. He wouldn’t accept the truth, so I just told him what he wanted. Maybe he learned that the first answer is usually the one you want to hear!
What are some funny stories that you have to share?