My Little Shop of Dark Humor

My family deals with stress and crisis using humor. It’s a real thing and our jokes can get kind of dark. 

Example: when my son completed his first radiation treatment for cancer, we were driving home. Here’s our exchange:

Me: Something smells good. I must be hungry.

Son: I think that’s me. I got cooked today. 

We pretty much learned it at our dad’s knee. I remember when a boiler exploded at his refinery. Yes, you read that right. I tried to find a link to the story, but it was a long time ago. Pre-pre-pre-pre-pre internet. 

But yes, a boiler exploded. No one was killed, but our main family car was melted into scrap, leaving us with just my dad’s pickup for transportation. This was in November, so it was cold. I remember walking to a church meeting in the chilly dark. 

I wish I could remember the actual jokes. But what I remember was feeling warm and safe and laughing as we walked. Any uncertainty we might have felt melted away in laughter. 

And when I went into the business of writing, humor—and sometimes dark humor—came along for the ride. 

So, to those who know me, my shop won’t be a surprise. 

Yes, I have a Shop. 

I’ve let it kind of languish out there as I was busy with other things, but I checked it out this week and went, wow, that’s funny. And dark. Hat tip to Amy Brantley who first set it up for me.)

It’s called Perilous Pauline’s Apparel and Perils. So I thought I’d share some screenshots from the shop to give you an idea of the humor, the peril, and yes, the dark: 

The plan is to add more stuff if I find people are interested in book collectibles, etc. Right now I just have a sampling of book covers available as die-cut stamps.

It takes a bit of time to get things set up and I kind of went down the rabbit hole doing this much. Lol But it was fun, so if you have a wish list, let me know!

Do you have a traditional coping method in your family? How do you feel about humor and dark humor?

Perilously yours,

Pauline