Why “Laugh Doctor” prescribes wit so often

Few people take the business of laughter as seriously as Dr. Joel Goodman of Saratoga Springs. “Exercising your laugh muscles each day is at least as important as exercising those in the rest of your body,” grins the “Laugh Doctor” who has been doling out humor prescriptions for more than a quarter of a century.

Recognized worldwide for his innovative work with The HUMOR Project, Inc., Goodman insists laughter plays a vital role in the success of many marriages and corporations and can transform even the most trying episodes into positive — or at least tolerable — experiences.

“If there’s one point that’s become clear in the nearly 3 decades since I founded The HUMOR Project, it’s that our planet would be a better place if people would just lighten up and not take themselves and others so seriously — and that includes husbands and wives, parents and children.”

“People are always saying: `Someday we’ll look back on this and laugh.’ My question is: `Why wait?’ Why not laugh now?” We’re not talking major tragedies here — just simple every day annoyances like a pair of mismatched socks in the underwear drawer, a traffic jam, an annoying co-worker or a tantrum tossing toddler. It’s just too easy, says Goodman, to permit negativity to transform every day molehills into volcanic mountains. “All I’m saying is if it’s one of those times when you can’t decide whether to laugh or cry, try laughing first. Remember: seven days without laughter make one weak.”

Lord knows, Goodman and his wife Margie Ingram have had their share of “laugh or cry” moments since they first became serious (or, as Goodman would say, “became lighthearted”) about one another back in the 1970s.

Not surprisingly, an admiration for one another’s exceptional sense of humor proved to be a strong force in the love magnet that pulled them together. The ability to seek out the laugh lines rather the fault lines has strengthened the bond between them since Adam, 19, and Alyssa, 15, joined the family tree.

“Parenting is not easy,” admits Goodman — quickly adding: “That may be the understatement of the year. The late Samuel Butler once observed that `parents are the last people on earth who ought to have children.’ (However) . . . even though parenting and preserving the health of the family are serious endeavors, they need not be solemn ones. In fact, adding some lightness and humor can be a powerful atomic balm to maintain the family as nucleus of civilization.”

It seems somehow fitting that Goodman chose New Year’s Eve 1948 in the sunny state of Virginia to make his grand entrance into the world. The Goodmans later moved to Maryland where a solid humor foundation was laid for Joel and his two younger siblings, David and Susan.

“I learned the value of a humorous perspective early in my life,” recalls Goodman. “My Mom, Paula, who has been my most important ongoing model of humor, showed me the way.” Whereas harmless childish antics caused most moms in the neighborhood to threaten to “crack the whip”, Goodman says his mother often had to restrain herself from “cracking up” with laughter.

“Her ability to see the funny side of things helped me to develop a happier, healthier perspective on life,” says Goodman. This outlook proved to be an enormous asset as he made his through the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Massachusetts’ Graduate School of Education. By the time he earned the academic initials Ed. D. in 1975, there was no doubt that Joel Goodman had made the grade as both an exceptional teacher and educational consultant.

Goodman’s career ultimately led him to Upstate New York, where he won accolades for his upbeat workshops for teachers and school administrators. For a while, he seemed destined to spend his life educating educators on such topics as stress management and improving communication skills.

Although he often injected humor into his seminars, the thought of dedicating an entire session to humor itself seemed, well, laughable. It took a family health crisis — and a joke cracking Texas taxi driver named Alvin — to help Goodman realize that humor was no laughing matter.

“Alvin’s positive outlook as he drove me to and from visits to the hospital room in Houston where my father was facing life or death surgery really gave my spirits a lift.” (Ultimately, papa Al Goodman enjoyed a complete recovery, and the entire family discovered why “Laughter is the best medicine.”)

Weeks later, while working late to catch up on all the work he’d missed while in Texas, the thing Joel Goodman refers to as The Alvin Lightbulb went on. “The key question I couldn’t stop asking myself was: Are there practical ways of bringing humor to life?

That was 1977, and at the time, Goodman had no plans whatsoever of turning his humor hobby into a serious business. The HUMOR Project was to be but a brief experiment run on a shoestring budget. Suffice it to say the shoestring was longer and stronger than anyone imagined.

Before long, Goodman was laughing his way to the bank as proprietor of a $1-million a year enterprise with a staff and a 100-person speaker bureau. (Mind you, Goodman’s generosity with his company’s earnings gives a whole new meaning to the term “profit sharing.” To date, The HUMOR Project has provided grants to over 350 schools, hospitals and human service agencies. The goal: to help them develop services and resources that tap into the positive power of humor.)

Described as “the first full-time humor educator in the world,” Goodman has logged thousands of miles bringing smiles to the faces of more than two million people across the United States and in foreign countries as diverse as Japan, Panama, Sweden, South Africa and the former Soviet Union.

In addition, The HUMOR Project has “touched and tickled” the lives of tens of millions of others through feature stories in thousands of publications as well as on national and international television and radio shows. (“Laughter,” he quips, “has no accent.”) The author of eight books, Goodman personally oversees the editing of “Laughing Matters”, a quarterly magazine devoted to finding constructive applications for humor in daily life.

The so-called “Laugh Doctor” also helps his wife Margie organize and host the annual International Humor & Creativity Conference each April which draws participants from “every hop, skip, jump and walk of life” on six continents. Past keynote speakers have included Steve Allen, Sid Caesar, Bob Newhart, David Hyde Pierce, Jay Leno, Art Buchwalk, Al Roker, Victor Borge, and The Smothers Brothers. Syndicated “Close to Home” cartoonist John McPherson, also a Saratoga resident, is a frequent workshop leader.

Even though Goodman takes the business of humor seriously, he continues to take himself lightly: “Danish comedian Victor Borge wasn’t really joking when he said: `A smile is the shortest distance between two people.’ I see my mission as helping people get more smileage out of their lives.”

For more information, “jest” visit www.humorproject.com.