What is your Humor Index?

by Jep Hostetler

Recently I received an article that was published originally in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and reprinted in the Colorado Springs Gazette, January 25, 1998. The author, Shella Taylor Wells tells of her encounter with 35 dreary people, in a dreary town in New Mexico. The byline read, "Don't substitute prudence for fun while on vacation." She watched as these dreary people shuffled into the café, ate their sandwiches and sipped their vegetable-noodle soup, and she says, "I never saw a more joyless bunch of travelers." Then she noticed the logo on their bus, "Prudent Tours." Turns
out that Prudent Tours is a Mennonite operation. What does this say about Mennonites in general, regarding their sense of joy or humor? Does it say anything at all or was this just a very difficult day and the folks were expecting steaks and received soup and sandwiches instead?

Do you have a sense of humor? If I were to meet you face to face and ask you this question, how would you respond? It is an interesting question because the answer depends on one's understanding of what it means to have a "sense of humor". If you grew up in an environment where laughter, joy, and celebration was a part of your daily routine, your answer would no doubt be different from a family where difficult times, pessimism and a sense of defeat persisted through childhood.

Two main factors contribute to your sense of humor. First, genetics. Yes. A recent study by a Harvard professor suggests that light-hearted folks are light-hearted by birth. About 50 percent of their attitude is due to genetic predisposition. Dour or sour persons, on the other hand, are sour for the same reason; they have a genetic predisposition. Thus, if you give
light-hearted folks difficult times and sorrowful situations, within about six months to a year they will be back to their light-hearted selves. On the other hand, give dour folks large amounts of money, vacations, health, and friends and within six months to a year they will be sour all over again. Second, nurture. A sense of humor can be developed, encouraged, and strengthened over time. When a family laughs easily, shares emotions, and has a great time celebrating, it is easier to learn how to be light-hearted. So the combination of genetics and environment, the old nature vs nurture, contributes to your humor quotient.

What is your humor index score? Why not take the following survey and obtain a small indication regarding how much permission you had, as a developing youngster, to participate in humor events.

 

Hostetler Humor Index - 1999 - Part I

(Not to be used for other than personal use without written permission)

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ACCORDING TO THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

1 for HARDLY EVER or NEVER; 3 for SOMETIMES; 5 for VERY OFTEN or ALWAYS

During my childhood and adolescent years:
1. _____ I had permission to laugh out loud.
2. _____ I can remember specific incidences when I laughed out loud.
3. _____ My mother, or adult female caretaker, laughed out loud.
4. _____ My father, or adult male caretaker, laughed out loud.
5. _____ Our household had a sense of humor, either noisy or quiet.
6. _____ There was a sense of optimism in our family or household.
7. _____ We celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, or other significant milestones.
8. _____ I enjoyed harmless practical jokes.
9. _____ We had a pet in our home.
10. _____ We sang, danced or played together, either as a partial or whole family.
11. _____ Mealtime was a fun time at our house.
12. _____ We ate ice cream.
_____ Total this section

If you scored 12 to 24, you probably had little permission to exhibit your light-hearted side. If you scored 25 to 36, you most likely had permission to join in mirth at least once in a while. If you scored 37 to 48, you had a fairly light-hearted childhood. If you scored 49 to 60, you definitely had a lot of permission to participate in humor events.

Do not take your score too seriously. This is not a scientific instrument. It is simply an indication of what you experienced during your growing up years in terms of your humor identity.

Humor includes a wide range of activities from laughter to celebration. In following columns I will be looking at your index as it relates to your current sense of humor and how you maintain light-heartedness. Also, I will be discussing the difference between humor and joy.

Send me your Mennonite humor. I'd love to hear from you. Send it via e-mail to: Hostetler.2@osu.edu

--Jep Hostetler, Ph.D., Columbus, Ohio, is a humor consultant. He has taught in the Ohio State University Medical School and is currently executive secretary of the Mennonite Medial Association.

Wilmer Swope, Leetonia, Ohio, wrote in response to Jep's October 1998 column:

"My double Brenneman cousin, Charles A. Brenneman of Elida, Ohio, a descendant of Bishop Brenneman, told me of a time when John M. Brenneman did laugh: 'On his farm (or a nearby farm) Brenneman observed a sheep climbing up an outside straw stack. Halfway up, the sheep tumbled off the stack. But the sheep wouldn't give up; it kept trying to climb to the top, and kept tumbling back down.'"

"My thoughts about Brenneman's aversion to laughing are that there was something about human jokes and antics which must have been related to pride in Brenneman's spiritual thinking. Human efforts at levity would certainly not have been in his understanding of humility."

Mennonite Historical Bulletin, April 1999