One of our five sons uses the exclamation of, “I’m having a blast” whenever asked how he is doing. The question really doesn’t have to be associated with his being at an amusement park or having some other ordinarily fun experience. He could be at the end of his workday and tired, but if asked, ‘How you doing?’ his response would most likely be, ‘I’m having a blast.’ Most everyone will know what a blast is, it refers to an explosion such as in a mining operation. I looked it up to see what a slang dictionary would say about it and this is how it was defined: “Blast” is slang for a very exciting or pleasurable experience or event. …It’s a colloquial expression meaning that the one using the term really enjoyed themselves or had a blast, (BLAST is an acronym, abbreviation or slang word that means having a ‘Damn good time.’) My son’s response usually gets a chuckle out of me because it ordinarily seems so out of place. Why out of place? Because, I know when he is saying it, that he can’t possibly be having a blast, or a damn good time.
I have thought about that expression and how great it would be if everyone responded to life, regardless of what one is engaged in, by saying, ”having a blast.” I realize that for others, like my son’s response, it would appear out of place and most likely out of character. However, if it would bring a smile to another’s face, as it does mine, it would serve a valuable service to the community as smiling is relaxing, smiling is healthy. My son is a very good natured person and by using the term he probably even brings some relief to his tired bones. I even had a blast writing about my son’s strange response to the question “How ya doin’?” Over my lifetime I have heard many responses that were different from what I had expected, but I believe, “Having a blast” was the first time I heard that expression as it came from my son’s mouth. We commonly hear when asked “How you doing?” “Great!” “OK!” “I’m doing just fine!” “Super!” I have sometimes said after “Super!” “if I were doing any better, I would have to go out and buy me a cape.”
Other similar and unexpected responses to, “How you doing?” include: “Who wants to know?” and “What do you plan to do with the information?” and “Are you serious, do you really want to know?” and “ Everything I say is being monitored by the FBI, and if I tell you, they will think you are part of the conspiracy.” People are funny and greetings that bring smiles, or laughter, are the kind that make my day.
Clarence Darrow said that; “If you lose the power to laugh, you lose the power to think.” That statement made me think about the relationship between laughter and thinking. I have always heard and agree with the statement that, ‘humor and intelligence go hand in hand’.
‘Having a blast’ is something like having fun at a high rate of speed.
I remember a time when my wife and I went on a tour of the Golden Spike Museum in Corinne, Utah. There was a story told of one of the men working the project who was named after what he did, ‘Dynamite Jim.’ One day, ‘Dynamite Jim’ was blasting and was blown into the air. He was docked pay for the time he spent in the air and not on the job. He was obviously or hopefully “Having a Blast.” There are many strange stories that are hardly normal in terms of shared jokes and yet when they are heard bring guffaws that bend you over. For example this one liner: “Every once in awhile I stick my head out the window and look up so that I can get a portrait via satellite.” Or this one that will make you double take: “Early in the morning of Oct. 8, 1991, Mrs. Florence A. Snegg, of Uvula, Mich. was having an extremely vivid dream in which her son, Russell, was involved in an extremely terrible automobile accident. Suddenly, she was awakened by the ringing of her telephone. On the line was a Missouri state trooper, calling long distance to remind Mrs. Snegg that she never had any children.” From that one alone you will either be bent over as I was or you will say, as my wife did, without even a smile, “That’s silly!” The lesson, according to Dave Barry, in this kind of humorous story is this: Before you say something is “impossible” you would be wise to remember the old saying; Truth is stranger than fiction, especially when truth is being defined by O.J. Simpson’s defense team.
“I like nonsense—it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope…and that enables you to laugh at all of life’s realities.”(Theodor S. Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss) We have to thank God for humor for how else could we justify “Having a blast” while we sojourn on earth.