#60 I’m disabled!

Janne and I did not share the exact same sense of humor and that was Ok. We did laugh about a few things together.

Janne and I would try to go see any Irish or British standup comedian who would visit Estonia. Jimmy Carr is an acquired taste, but we both loved to hear him live. If he was on TV, Janne was not interested. Janne did enjoy seeing Dylan Moran live too. However, the one who left a mark in her was Bill Bailey as he is a wizard musician and comedian at the same time.

Conan O’Brien has always been at the top of my list. I got Janne a bit into his comedy, but I think she liked more how much I would laugh at his comedy (except if we were about to sleep as that would make her upset). What Janne did love is when Conan travelled to Cuba. Maybe it was because she was a bit familiar with Latin culture. Conan is the only comedian I’ve been able to listen non-stop during my bout of grief (and for this, I’m thankful).

There was something that would make her laugh always without fail. The IT Crowd is this show about the IT Department in a corporation. If you’ve heard the phrase, “have you tried turning it off and on again”, this is the source. This was not the most typical of shows that Janne would watch, but she couldn’t avoid it as I am a fan.

The episode that would bring loud-out laughter was called The Work Outing. There are many story lines in the episode, but the one Janne loved is when one of the characters, Roy, decides to go to a disabled toilet. Once in there, he pulls by mistake the emergency chord so attendants come to kick the door down.

Roy is lying on the floor. They asked him what happened, and he just replies, “I’m disabled!” They ask him again how he is disabled, and he replies, “leg disabled!” And there you have it. Janne would be howling without containing herself. Sometimes, we’d be driving and I just would utter, “I’m disabled!” To this, she would reply, “leg disabled!” and we would start laughing.

I was watching this scene while writing this. I find it still hilarious. While I’m laughing, tears started coming out of my eyes. It’s funny and sad at the same time. It just makes me feel Janne is still laughing next to me.