The Thin Line

There is a thin line between the laugh and the cry. The laugh is often perfected by one who has silenced her crying. The laugh is sometimes a ruse, a ready weapon to camouflage pain. When the laugh is hearty, loud, disturbing even, it can be masking a horror. Do not be fooled by the laughing; these people are often hurting more than any of the others. Get to know them. Ask “how are you really feeling?” Do not be surprised if they laugh, pooh-poohing you. If you persist they may tell you that they do not have any emotions. Many children raised in the “olden days” were never allowed to have them. Feelings were shut off in childhood, by parents who could only accept the laughing. Sometimes the best clowns, the ones who keep us in constant stitches Are doing so, to keep themselves from throwing a rope over a rafter. Sometimes they break down, finally, and jump out the eighteen floor window. Do not be fooled by the laughing. It can be even more disturbing Than a perpetual pouty face, Or an angry arm-crossed bully-ish attitude. Be aware of the laughing. It is often a mask to cover the worst pain. Robin Williams and John Belushi knew this.