random amusements

Photo of me and Denise from New Years Eve...date unknown... (notice the bottle in her hand...?)

That was a really one!

Denise and I have been friends since high school. Best friends, partners in crime, trusted allies, mutual therapists, dance instructors…many things. These days, we don't see each other very often, but when we do, it is as though no time has passed and we fall right into our old joke routines.

One particular memory stands out. It is a phrase that was coined over 20 years ago, and still remains one of those things that will always crack us up. I have shared this story with scores of new friends over the years, and many pick it up and use it in their conversations. A little something that Denise and I have donated to the world.

You see, I don't have to be drunk to be stupid and amusing; I just have to be tired. When I'm tired from, oh, say, staying up all night, I stop making sense. Unfortunately, I don't stop talking. Things will come out of my mouth, and I have no idea what I'm saying. Which is exactly what happened that infamous night.

Denise had invited me, and another friend of hers, to stay the night at her house. It was a weekend, so we were not too concerned about disturbing her parents, and we ended up staying up all night long. It must have been about 6am, after hours of talking, laughing, singing along to the radio, and telling jokes.

I'm not very good at remembering jokes, but at 6am one happened to pop into my mind. What I meant to say was, "wait, wait, wait, this is a really funny one."

But I left out the word "funny."

Denise and Carrie are cracking up, and I'm thinking, "I didn't tell the joke yet…"

"This is a REALLY ONE?!" Denise shouts/laughs.

"It's a really FUNNY one," I explain.

"You said 'this is a really one'," she says, and then falls over onto Carrie, both of them laughing/snorting.

"No, I said, 'this is a really FUNNY one'," I repeat.

"No, you left out the word 'funny' and said, 'this is a really one'," Denise insists and cracks up all over again.

So, ever since then, when one of us heard a good joke, we'd say, "hey, I heard a really one the other day…"

It's catchy. Somebody does something funny, you say, "hey, that was a really one!" Movie cracks you up—it was a "really one."

Maybe it's not translating well into the written word, but if you're around me enough, it'll turn up in conversation. And when it does, you will laugh. It's inescapable.

Here's to Denise, old friends, and good memories….and really ones.