P.P.S. My mom and I had an up-and-dpown relationship, but we could almost always make each other laugh and loved to do so. Her mom was on the music-hall stage of England, which was ALL corny jokes, like vaudeville, I guess.
I remember with real pleasure the first time I made both my parents laugh, I must have been about 6, with some joke I told. Words and laughter mean a lot to me.