Amazing, the little things we free men take for granted that tend to grab the attention of the incarcerated.
Today, we receive 24 humor-as-therapy books, most of them purchased through Advanced Educational Products, an excellent source with a consistently high fill rate. Included in the shipment are books on stress management, and one on why it’s important as a parent to help nurture your child’s sense of humor. Good stuff.
We also received DVDs, Blu-Rays, & a comedy CD set. These will be for the ‘active listening’ and ‘active viewing’ part of the humor-as-therapy program. During active listening, we’ll listen to a comedian or a comedy bit, and stop it at certain points to analyze the type of humor used and its effects on the receiver (e.g., was anyone hurt by the joke). We’ll do the same thing with the DVDs.
Since most of my clerks are lifers, this is the 1st time they’re seeing Blu-Ray disks. One of them says to me: “Y’know how I knew which were Blu-Rays?” I figure he’s going to tell me some esoteric piece of information about something that he’s learned about the format, so I bite.
“How?”
“Because their cases are blue!”
And EYE’m the idiot who hired him.
All of the films were chosen for their humor content. some titles include Fiddler on the Roof, Scrooged, It’s a Wonderful Life, and The Wizard of Oz.
When I remove Oz from the box, my inter library loan clerk smiles broadly & says “HEY! You got the Wizard! I haven’t seen that movie in 25 years!” Here I must pause and apologize to the world-weary and cynical, because hearing this breaks my heart. The Wizard of Oz will always be one of my guilty pleasures, and I manage to see it once a year. One day, to my delight, I discovered that one of our now-retired Lieutenants could recite whole scenes from this film, such is his mania & affection for it. His favorite is when the Wizard ‘gives’ the Tin Man his heart.
The inter library loan clerk has signed up for the first cycle of the program, which begins on May 26th. He will definitely get to see his movie.
Or, at least see sections of it. Remember, we’re running a stress-reduction program using humor as our therapeutic vehicle. We’re not permitted to entertain in our libraries, only to instruct & educate. But if any entertainment value is gleaned by the participants, well, it’s all in the name of rehabilitation and re-integration.
“And remember, my sentimental friend: a heart is not judged by how much YOU love, but by how much you are loved by others.”