A reader commends Matt on his sense of humor but laments that his own sense of humor is lacking.

Matt responds:

I probably get my sense of humor from my Irish heritage.  In Ireland, if it’s not about the sheep and the cows and a good pint of beer, it’s fair game for all kinds of laughter, interpretation, and glee-making.

Humor, to me, is the influence of the human species on the natural world.  Most of the world is governed by norms, realities—trees must always grow down with roots and up with leaves, waves come to the shore and then go back, the wind blows, except when it gets into tornadoes.

To me, the human species is the tornado and the hurricane in the world.  You never know what the driver in front of you is going to do.  You never know if somebody is going to come out of a sewer pipe in front of you or some boob will jump off a truck.

To me, it’s a grand comedy to look on, and revel in.  I believe that part of the human species is a residue of where we really came from:  where everything is important and nothing is; where everything is funny because it’s expected to be helpful, loving, kind, and joyful, so there’s nobody with a big, unsmiling face that’s throwing cold water on everything.

A comedian is just pointing out to ourselves how stupid the things are that we do.  I happen to think that comedy is the reality and the norm.

We can either despair or laugh.  I opt to laugh.  I’m one of God’s fools, not huddling in the corner, “Woe is me...”  I’m skipping through the rain, with the lightning bolts on either side!  It’s fun—just jump in, and let it go!  If people don’t like it, who gives a damn?

You say you don’t tell good jokes.  My advice is:  Tell the joke anyway, and if nobody laughs, maybe they don’t know what the hell they’re talking about!

Matt