I’m not afraid admit it: I’m an antique. When we were kids, Mom would literally tell us “go watch television” to get us out of her hair. Mind you this was mostly when it was too crummy to go outside; but we grew up spending some time in front of the TV.

When family life got stressful, I found myself clinging to the relief provided by good old black and white TV programs and movies. I mostly enjoyed black and white programs because, well, that’s all we had at our house until well into the ‘70s.

Abbott and Costello, The Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, oh and of course there was Our Gang, the Bowery Boys, Bug Bunny, Felix the Cat, Betty Boop…

I could go on for a very long time.

I count myself as one a privileged generation who were blessed to be wowed by the old time greats, yet also blessed by newer talents of today.

But when life gets really icky, I find myself reaching for the Three Stooges or Marx Brothers DVDs. Or maybe Monty Python. OK, Monty Python episodes were not filmed in glorious black and white, but you get the idea.

So there I was, 10,000 feet in the air, no plane, no parachute… oh wait… different story.

So there I was, working my hiney off, being grumpy, not being very grateful. Silly me, a spoiled American, being grumpy because I am working harder than ever. Many, MANY people in this world would be very happy to have the high-class problems I have. However, I’m human and therefore I get grumpy from time to time.

For me, one of the best remedies for stress is laughter.

Therefore, I’m going to treat you to one of my favorite black and white stress relievers.

Please remember that it’s always better to be you than for you to be me; and although you can count to it, “eight” is a word.

OK… now to make with the video!