It Is Easier To Confess A Defect

Has The Gift Of Laughter Been Withdrawn From Me? I Protest That I Do Still, At The Age Of Forty-seven, Laugh Often And Loud And Long. But Not, I Believe, So Long And Loud And Often As In My Less Smiling Youth. And I Am Proud, Nowadays, Of Laughing, And Grateful To Any One Who Makes Me Laugh. That Is A Bad Sign. I No Longer Take Laughter As A Matter Of Course.

Incongruity Is The Mainspring Of Laughter.

It Is Easier To Confess A Defect Than To Claim A Quality.

I Prefer That Laughter Shall Take Me Unawares. Only So Can It Master And Dissolve Me.

Improvisation Is The Essence Of Good Talk. Heaven Defend Us From The Talker Who Doles Out Things Prepared For Us; But Let Heaven Not Less Defend Us From The Beautiful Spontaneous Writer Who Puts His Trust In The Inspiration Of The Moment.