Flashback Feature: 1983

Last evening, our family had our weekly Sunday night wind-down-the-weekend ritual of watching Americas Funniest Videos that had been TiVO'd Friday night. Now Americas Funniest Videos used to be kind of lame. I take that back...not just kind of lame--it was very lame. I go crazy when they run the old episodes featuring Bob Saget. He wasn't funny to begin with. Add to that the fact that he was on a show he obviously despised and didn't try to hide his disdain and the already lame show becomes pure agony to watch. Now somewhere along the line, someone other than me realized this. It's no longer America's Funniest Videos, it's AFV. Bob Saget has been replaced with the much wittier Tom Bergeron. He actually is funny. He is a little racy. He makes fun of the show and the idiotic things people will do just to get on TV. He does the show with enthusiasm and it has made for much better TV. That being said, if it wasn't for our kids, I probably still wouldn't watch it. However, because the boys love it so much, we watch it weekly. There is no greater sound than the squeals of laughter for that hour. Even TMS lets go a few hearty laughs throughout the show. TMS has a great, loud, laugh-in-the-face-of-danger-that-the-windows-may-shatter-by-the-sheer-volume-of-it, belly laugh. Anyway, after the show, I began thinking of things that I've witnessed in my life that, to this day, really make me laugh. I thought I'd share a few of these as a "Flashback Feature".

Flashback: 1983
Place: Stagger Lees (bar)

My friend, "S", is a terrible dancer. She has no rhythm–but that doesn't stop her. After drinking like 20-year-olds drink, we head up to the dancefloor. The dancefloor is a large square bordered on two sides by a railing and stairs, and two sides by wooden archways with mirrored inserts. The entire time I was out there "shakin' my groove thang" I kept thinking how it was such an optical illusion that the mirrors made it look as if there was a whole other room full of people dancing like we were. I say as a joke to S, "Let's go over into that other room for awhile." She turns and walks right into the mirror. Then, she looks up (thinking she has walked into another person) and says to her reflection, " Oh, excuse me! I'm so sorry." and walked back into the mirror a second time.

To this day, I can laugh myself silly thinking of it.