We Are the Only Species That Laughs

I never expected to be inspired, awed, and lifted tonight when I went to see Joan Rivers. She is really truly hilarious. Yes, she can be offensive. But I think this world needs to lighten up. Her off color remarks had me tearing with laughter. I got an ab workout during the show, better than any other workout I've ever done. And she recommends laughter as a workout. Who doesn't like to laugh?
You know what she said yo me at the end? (Not necessarily just to me but it felt like it) She said, "We are the only species that laughs." She's right. It's a gift we've been given. You don't see cows laughing. Or dogs. No matter what you may think. We are the only species that laughs.
Joan talked about her life. The ups and downs, the cruelness (idk if that's a word) and fabulousness of show business and just how hard it was to get to now. She is almost 80 years old. She's still going. But it wasn't all fun and games. It took her 7 years to get noticed. She worked on shows as a comedy writer. A woman comedy writer. Unheard of in those days. Even after she had established herself, she struggled. After her husband committed suicide, someone told her that no one would laugh at a woman whose husband had just committed suicide. She fell backwards. Back to being a nobody. Then E! put her on the red carpet and she spoke those fabulous words "Who are you wearing?" Suddenly, Joan was back.
She made fun of countless celebrities, even some people in the audience during the Q&A. I raised my hand and stood up to ask her a question but the microphone dudes never came to my rescue. I even had a crowd of gay men behind me trying to help. No luck. But she was inspiring. She reminded me of myself in weird ways.
She talked about how she always knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life. Show business. She called it "luck." She never had to ponder, "what do I want to do with my life?" She knew. And she said, once you know, put your blinders on and take that road. Don't worry about other people. It's your life. Live it.
She was fabulously entertaining and wonderfully inspiring. Not exactly what I expected from Joan, but exactly what I needed.