I’m too busy to follow sensationalized trials.  If the O.J. thing was going on today, I’d probably say “Let me know when it’s over.”  Come to think of it, I believe I treated it the same way as the Casey Anthony trial.  Heard about it, knew people were intrigued, which piqued my interest….but didn’t really get on board until the surprising end.

As many of you know, I write jokes for a living.  I’m always looking for that punchline, that clever twist that I can discover and make people laugh out loud.  Ironically, it happened today when the editor of Radio Online, Ron Chase, took the time out of his chaotic schedule to tell me how much he enjoyed one of the jokes I had sent him earlier in the day. (FYI, the joke was–A giant dust storm swallowed up Phoenix on Tuesday.  FEMA is already on the scene, delivering emergency shipments of Pledge. What makes this a big deal to me is not only the fact the boss noticed, but also, with the outcome of that trial, I just haven’t felt funny.  Sure, the witty remarks slip out…some of that is auto-pilot.  But when I write show prep in the morning, I usually write jokes as I scan the news.  The past couple of days, I’ve wrapped up the morning writing and stared at a blank section where jokes should live.  So, I’d have to dig deep and come up with something, anything, fairly funny.  The fact that the “pledge” joke got such a response lets me know that I’m heading back into the zone.

What have we learned from this?  It goes back to what I’ve always said, people should have a license to be a parent.  You need one to drive, to fish, to own a pet…but pop out kids one right after the other?  It’s a “right”.  Then you end up with people who think not reporting your child missing for 31 days or putting duct tape on their mouths is normal parenting.  I don’t think the duct tape thing ever happened to me, but I’m sure if I was my parent I would have seriously considered it.

So, it’s back to being funny.  To looking at Charlie Sheen or Lindsay Lohan and saying “Thank GOD you’re back in the news!”  Sometimes it’s tough.  Sometimes the news just isn’t funny.

Tim Hunter