by Angie McBride, Weekend Breakfast co-host at FIVEAA
We are very privileged to have a job in the media, and I most certainly don’t take that for granted, but covering the stories we do can be heavy and distressing.
On Sunday mornings on FIVEAA I have a segment called Sunny Sunday where listeners phone in with pleasant things they have heard locally, nationally and around the world. It could be something nice or funny they have seen on the internet, great customer service, or something good that has happened to them. A lady phoned in to tell us her daughter had got married and the dog played the ring-bearer in the wedding. Adorable! Another lady in her eighties, who was highly religious, went to the cinema and wanted a good laugh. She chose Anaconda with Jack Black and Paul Rudd. She said she didn’t like them blaspheming in the movie, but it gave her a good laugh and she found herself giggling! I had a good laugh at the poor UPS driver in the United States being chased by wild turkeys while trying to deliver packages. Give those delivery drivers a pay rise for sure!
I recently saw a social media post of a journalist interviewing someone on their tragedy and the journalist was in tears. The comments were awful, accusing her of being unprofessional. These comments were extremely unfair. Just because we work in the industry doesn’t mean we don’t feel upset by the things we have to report on. We are only human after all.
Since COVID began in 2020, there has been a barrage of very heavy topics to cover. We do try to cover a wide variety of topics and provide balance between heavy and not-so-heavy, but some days, unfortunately, the news cycle is one bit of shocking news after another. The world feels full of uncertainty and stress right now. Whether that’s always been the case or whether social media has simply made it more visible is hard to say, but the constant stream of content, real and fabricated, doesn’t help. Wars, the cost of living, terrorism, the loss of much-loved entertainers. The tragedies seem never-ending. I suppose that’s life, but it can be deeply distressing.
What makes you laugh? What did we do before YouTube? When I feel like something funny to watch I look up television show and movie bloopers. Even the most serious shows provide hilarious bloopers. Following the death of Catherine O’Hara, who was known for roles in Home Alone, Best in Show and as Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, I have been looking up Schitt’s Creek bloopers. Very funny!
It’s important in the sadness of the world to find something nice and funny to hook into. Giving our brains a good serotonin hit is essential! Numerous studies state laughter stimulates your lungs, muscles, soothes tension, decreases your heart rate and blood pressure. That’s just the start. Laughter really is the best medicine. More reason to look at funny dog and cat videos!
It doesn’t matter what age you are, you should always find something to laugh about, as long as it’s not at the expense of others. I’m always laughing at myself and my jokes. Someone has to!
My suggestion to you is to find something to laugh about at least once a day. That is an achievable goal.
Why do crabs never volunteer? Because they’re shellfish. Ha!
Weekend Breakfast with Angie McBride & Michael Keelan on FIVEAA from 6am Saturday and Sunday.
