Bizarroville

A Funny Guy

A couple of decades ago, the funniest guy that there has ever been was born. His mother had had a blast throughout the whole pregnancy; he moved around in a way that always managed to tickle her, which made her laugh until she gasped for breath. The mother and father of the unborn child had decided to name him Robbert, since it was a name fit for a funny lad (given the variation of nicknames that originated from it). It was good that they settled upon a name before Robbert (or Robbie, as he would subsequently be called) was born. It was twice as good that they told the Doctor of the name beforehand, and the explanation will be soon given as to why.

The day of Robbie's conception was a weird one. Experts have come to the agreement that it must have been so, yet the cause of the weirdness has been a matter of some dispute. Some claim that an asteroid passed near that cabin by the lake, leaving a trail of helium in its wake. Others say that the light of Lux-Delta14 (a star with a funny story of its own) shone upon them that night. And still, some claim that it was simply genes, that Robbie's great-great-grandfather had been one of the leading comics of his time.
Whatever the case, whether mingled genes or the atmosphere or the circus flea that bit Robbie's mother in the ankle the night before, something definitely weird took place that night.

As of that moment Robbert Weirington was to become the funniest man that has ever existed, and everything he said or did was to be regarded as utterly hilarious. Eight months and 22 days later, newborn Robbie was to make his first public appearance at St. Peter's hospital in downtown Bizarroville. As soon as he left the womb, Robbie did as most newborn infants do; he started crying. Upon receiving him, Dr. Cunningman let loose a chuckle, which soon turned into full, rich laughter. Upon latter reflection, he couldn't quite remember what it was that had set him on the laughing fit, although he thought he had seen something funny. Yes, something funny about the way the lad cried, that must have been it.

Dr. Cunningman was not the only one in the room to perceive something funny about Robbie, for everyone in the room soon started laughing, even Robbie's dad, who had been looking a bit faint at the sight of his wife's blood and the idea of finally becoming a father. It was lucky for our protagonist that every single member of the staff was as experienced as they were, for if they had not had such level of skill they would not have been able to perform their duties in their state of being.

Soon enough, young Robbie was laying on his mother's bouncing chest, while his father tried unsuccessfully to stop laughing. They could not understand it, but Robbie had something that made them laugh, that made them want to laugh and be jolly.

Skimming through young Robbie's first years, we see that the first manner of communication he learned was laughter. In fact, he did not learn to speak until a very late age, for the people around him could do nothing but laugh. He enjoyed it at first, and thought that it was perfectly normal, for he had witnessed no other form of interaction. He began to understand the differences between laughs: the merry laugh, the jolly laugh, the desperate laugh, the sad laugh, the pleasing laugh, the chuckle, the snort-laugh, the scoff laugh, the chortle, the LOL, the ROTFL, the ROTFLMAO and many others. He understood when his mother laughed while trying to tell him to go to sleep, and when his father laughed while trying to chastise him for spilling his milk. And so, when expressing things to his parents, he simply laughed, thinking that they would understand him.

It soon became evident, however, that they did not and could not understand him. It was a Saturday afternoon, and he was seated with his family having lunch. Unbeknownst to him, his parents had been worrying recently regarding the matter of Robbie's attendance to school. He was coming of age, but he could not yet talk, and any attempt they made of teaching him ended up in horrible fits of laughter.

This particular afternoon, Robbie laughed his 'pass-me-the-salt' laugh, expecting his mother to pass the salt, yet he was amazed to discover that she did not pass the salt. She instead laughed, and looked at him with sad eyes. He saw in her eyes that she felt sorry for him, although he could not fathom why she should feel that way. He laughed his pass-me-the-salt-laugh once more, and when she laughed once more with sad eyes, he understood that she had no idea what he was laughing about, or its possible meaning. This set Robbie on a pondering track. It was obvious his parents could not understand him. Yet he could understand them. What could he do in order to make them understand him? He ate his mashed potatoes while he pondered. His father chuckled sadly while he ate, wondering how a child could be so funny without uttering a word. Robbie then decided to spy on his parents and find the means of communication between them.