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Ha! Laughter. Better than medicine?

Certified laughter leader Bunnie McCormack is using laughter as a learning and relaxation tool in schools, churches and community centers across the area.

By MICHELE MILLER
Published October 5, 2005

NEW PORT RICHEY - Hee, hee.

Now, for a little healthy interaction, try letting loose a little by reading the rest aloud.

Hee, hee, hee, hee.

Ha, ha, ha, ho, ho, ho, HA, HA, HA, HAH, HAH!!!

Now, go back and read the above once again - or as many times as needed - with feeling. You can even add a guffaw or a snort or two. For good measure, finish it off with a great, big belly laugh.

Feel better?

You should.

Laughter, it seems, can help with a lot of stuff.

If you don't believe that, get a load of all the articles that pop up online when you plug into Google "benefits of laughter."

Or, just ask Bunnie McCormack, the media specialist at Chasco Middle School.

"It helps with respiration, digestion and circulation. It's relaxing - a stress reliever," said McCormack, 59, who since 2001 has been a certified laughter leader with the World Laughter Tour Inc. "If you're having a bad day, sometimes just 30 seconds of laughter can turn it around. It can even help you lose weight. It's internal jogging, if you will."

"And," says McCormack with a giggle. "It prevents hardening of the attitude."

McCormack, who for years has enjoyed a reputation of being perhaps a little quirky - "into the goofy stuff" - says she knows well the therapeutic relief that comes with a good laugh.

"I never could sing or dance but I've always been a talker," said McCormack, who also, it seems, has the gift of giggle.

She's not afraid to play the fool - dressing up as "Vampira" at school for Halloween or conducting silly programs like "the Frog Days of Spring" to tickle a funny bone or two. Even doing cafeteria duty creates an opportunity for McCormack to spread a little cheer.

"I love to get the kids in the lunchroom giggling all over the place," says McCormack, who admits to driving while wearing a finger puppet just to get a rise out of youngsters riding in the car in front of her.

This year, McCormack is using laughter as a teaching tool in state mandated Intensive Reading Classes for students who have fallen behind.

"If they can laugh (in class) and associate it with something good, maybe they can read a little better," she said.

This month McCormack will receive the Florida Association for Media in Education Amanda Award for that proposal. According to the FAME Web site, the award "recognizes high school and middle school media specialists for developing programs that enhance and support the self-esteem and well being of young adults by creating exemplary environments where students are made to feel that they fit in and that they are part of the school."

But McCormack wants her work to go beyond that - reach an older generation of folks who on average laugh about 15 times a day compared to the kids who are yakking it up about 300 times a day.

"I think both kids and adults learn with a sense of humor," McCormack said.

That's why McCormack, and her aunt, Jeanne Neese, 84, also a certified laughter teacher, spend many hours out in the community conducting laughter clubs at local churches, assisted living facilities, Kiwanis Clubs or other community and business events.

"It definitely gets you over your inhibitions - lightens your mood quickly," said Gayle Spearman, who attended a Laughter Club at the Unity Truth Center in New Port Richey. "You can feel foolish and it's fun. You're with a bunch of other people acting like fools."

McCormack also teaches laughter classes to senior citizens at Pasco-Hernando Community College. There she gives handouts on recent studies touting the health and social benefits. The class also includes about 10 minutes of some rather heavy-duty laughing. When her students complete her class, McCormack awards then with certificates, a piece of chocolate and their very own red clown noses.

But the attitude adjustment that comes with it, is perhaps the biggest reward.

Jackie Williams, 55, recently completed the four-week class at PHCC and also attended a laughter club with her daughter Cheryl, 35, who is disabled from a brain tumor she had when she was young.

She's glad she did.

"It can get frustrating - for her and me," said Williams. "She (Cheryl) had been having this little grudge thing inside of her," Williams said. "And being in the club helped her let go of that."

"I have fibromyalgia plus care-giver stress," Williams said. "When you're really laughing like that, I guess it gets the endorphins going. It gets your mind off your aches and pains."

NOTE: Those interested in attending laughter classes at Pasco Hernando Community College should call Student Services at 727 816-3201 or log on to www.phcc.edu

[Last modified October 5, 2005, 01:35:49]