poo and farts are funny, even just saying the words without the visual and/or sound effect is sufficient to get me giggling, as a number of people can attest to. i own a remote controlled fart machine with 5 settings whose batteries are long dead from overuse- mostly at work. i was also given a pair of flip flops several birthdays ago that had pictures of dog turds in the grass on both the upper and lower sole. this was the ultimate in birthday presents, and i immediately went on line to order a pair for both my brother and dad for xmas.
last week, in a desperate attempt to engage a group of surly teenagers away from the chargers game, i inflicted flubber on the hospital. for the unversed, flubber is borax, water, and white glue. when combined it takes on the consistency of snot and melted mozzarella. as you continue to knead it the texture becomes more marshmallow-like and thus perfect for making flatulent noises with the aid of a coffee mug. the adolescents' (and staffs') interest in cheering the team on to the superbowl gave way to who could make the loudest and/or longest sounding fart. they were laughing, talking, interacting and even insightful enough to be able to identify the therapeutic value of the activity.
the following day i decided to introduce flubber to my adult outpatient group. contrary to my anxiety that it would go down like a "shit sandwich at a church picnic" (my brother's quote) they were able to get out of their comfort zones and giggled like a group of small children while trying to disrupt the group next door with their noises. one patient (who was on the verge of being hospitalized) declared that she hadn't had such a strong belly laugh in longer than she cared to remember. i am undecided as to whether i will be taking flubber onto the senior unit, the sound is all too familiar there without the addition of my therapy science project.
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