Hot pockets. Paleness. Laziness.
Cinnabons. What do these things have in common? Technically, America would have
been an acceptable answer, but the real answer I was looking for was Jim
Gaffigan. I suppose he would be a good spokesperson for America. I certainly
wouldn’t mind.
Recently he released a book to cover
almost all the bases of comedy- TV, movies and books. He just needs a podcast
and he’s set! Although that may be a little difficult seeing as how he already
does shows and has five kids. As someone who grew up in a house of seven kids,
two parents and after I turned 14, a dog, I understand the chaos of living in a
big family. Yes, like Gaffigan, I am Catholic. I am the fifth child, so I don’t
remember spending much time with younger children. I was one of them at a time!
I couldn’t observe them with the mind of an adult.
Jim Gaffigan’s nonfictional semi-autobiography about parenting is only one of…well… about 20. Maybe less. I know
Dave Barry wrote one (or four) funny books about kids and parenting. He is a
comedy columnist, after all. Bill Cosby is probably known for one of the best,
and he has even worked it into his stand up. It is hilarious. But then again,
it’s Bill Cosby. Of course it’s hilarious.
The book itself was easy to read, the chapters were
short, and some well-placed pictures added to the humor and sentimentality. It
was written with a lot of voice and personality, and if you close your eyes,
you can practically see Jim Gaffigan saying it into a microphone in front of
thousands of people. Actually, he has even written in some jokes that I
recognized from his stand up, but that doesn’t make then any less funny. Jim
Gaffigan is also quite self-aware, which makes it nice when he calls himself
out on an obvious joke. Take this one: “It’s not just leaving; it’s leaving with
stuff. There is just so much stuff to bring when you have young children. When
you’re headed to the park, you must pack diapers, wipes, juice boxes, and
sunscreen. And then there is the stuff for the kids. (Thank you, I’m here all
book.)”
 |
| This is what you're supposed to do with books, right? |
He knows the joke is easy and a little groan-worthy, yet
he couldn’t help himself. Instead of trying to pass it off as something he
labored over, he made a joke about his joke. (Jokeception) He knows what he did
and he turned a potentially eye-rolling reaction into a wry smile, if not an
outright laugh or chuckle. I’ve known a few shows to do that, when a character
isn’t really in an episode and instead of trying to work it in, they make a
joke out of it. In a brilliant UK series called The IT Crowd, they reference
that sort of thing multiple times: once, when actor Richard Ayoade wasn’t in
the episode much, they turn his return into a joke. The writers know the
audience knows, the audience knows the writers know they know, and so on.
The best part about the book is that even though Gaffigan
balances his slightly sarcastic, self-deprecating, dry humor with genuine
sincerity and gratefulness for his family. He may make jokes about how hard
parenting is and how little sleep he gets (he’s down to three naps a day! Oh
the inhumanity!), but he counters with a sentence or two about how amazing his
wife is and how much he loves his kids. There is no doubt that he means them
with all his heart. To keep from getting too sentimental, he comes back with
another joke. It is supposed to be a funny book, after all. A classic example:
“I am undeniably lucky to have married a woman like Jeannie. She is
energetic, hardworking, and takes incredible care of the kids and me. However,
during our marriage there have been periods when she has become rather lazy.
Jeannie describes these periods as “pregnancy.” My view has always been,
pregnant or not, that does not mean she can’t move some cinder blocks. We are a
team, and I have to take a second nap today.
Of course, pregnant women are not lazy. In fact,
they are the opposite of lazy. Whatever they are doing, they are also always
growing a baby. Even when they are sleeping, they are growing a baby. They are
constantly multitasking. I’m often not even tasking.”
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| Boy, talking about naps sure is-zzzzzzz..... |
Obviously,
this book is best suited for people who are parents or have spent a fair amount
of time with children between the ages of one and seven, but don’t worry if you’re
not in that demographic. The jokes are still funny, but you might not get as
much out of them or connect as well. It does help to have knowledge of kids and
large family behavior, though. I know one child can be a handful, but bump that
number up to five and have the older ones old enough to conspire against you
and you’ve got yourself a real disaster zone. If you’re curious, you should inform
Jim Gaffigan know that you’re interested in babysitting for him. He’ll call you
back tomorrow.
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