I know it isn't funny but I love to make you laugh - Softcover

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one of my earliest memories
is that of my mother holding forth
with the story of my birth

"talk about hard labor!
how about 42 hours' worth...
Doctor Hugh hauling on the forceps
like a frontier dentist
and pain so intense
I doubt if even the most dedicated
masochist could bare it
Ricky's silly little elongated head
appearing at last
all red and resembling a carrot
honestly when I saw how pointed he was

I went into hysterics
guffawing till stitches burst
and had to be re-sewn
I mean I really thought the nurse
had brought me an Ice-cream cone"

god
how I resented being grist
for mother's sense-of-humor mill
remaining pissed until my own children
made me face the fact
that for all intents and purposes
I have taken the same act on the road

time
to stop mining the mother load
to quit whining and go to her defense
and say on her behalf
that...
"she knew it wasn't funny
but she loved to make you laugh"