Lately I’ve begun to feel guilty when I laugh. These are no longer the carefree, fun-loving times of days gone by. So much anger, so much despair and mistrust now in our country and our world—justifiable considering current events—that it almost seems criminal to chuckle, giggle, guffaw, or even smirk; seems as though our society has become so dour and dissatisfied that a cackle or snort in a public place demands a charge of misdemeanor, or a psychiatric examination.
And yet, how can we go on without humor in our lives? It’s a basic human necessity, right up there with air, food, water, shelter, and online porn. It’s one of the things that completes us, that separates us from the lower forms of life. Laughter reduces stress. It calms us, defuses us, sometimes brings us together. It is the antidote to our current violence.
I am here to assure you that it is still okay to laugh. You may have to do it in private, in your own home with the doors locked and the shades drawn, bingeing on old Seinfeld reruns, but yes, you can laugh. And I happen to have another reason for you to do so.
All this is a roundabout way of introducing the novel I wrote that will be published by 7.13 Books in the spring of 2018. It’s called Mr. Neutron. It’s a comedy. It’s a satire. It’s a science fiction-political-mystery-Frankensteinian-literary mashup…or something.
Over the next year I’ll be blogging on a semi regular basis about the book, the publishing process, great comedians, and humor in general. I will do my best to be funny, to give you some reason to forget our current tsunami of crises. All I ask is that you visit when you’re in a good mood…oh, and buy the book when it comes out.
Joe Ponepinto 