ARE YOU THE FUNNIEST PERSON IN YOUR FAMILY

Not even close. The funniest person in my family is my uncle Arsalan, or Arsi as we call him. As a child, he was always the favorite and the one who lit up a room and made us all laugh. Even now, when we decide what family tripes or reunions to attend, the deciding factor is whether he will be there or not. 

 His funny would make the elderly, like my grandmother laugh as well as very young kids. He would make up words that would be silly and randomly yell words out in public, like Persian swear words that would only be funny to me and my relatives and not to the non-persians who surrounded us. I had unkept hair as a child and he used to smell my hair and retract and say I smelled like sheep. He would tell us stories of the racism he experienced in Oklahoma when he moved there from Iran and would mimic the southern accents with perfect precision. I can tell 100s of stories of how he was funny, but it would never translate into words. You had to be there.

Even now, as a “great uncle” to my own nieces and nephew, he is the favorite and funniest. Unlike me, he is naturally funny. He has a likability that you can’t learn, it’s natural for him. He meets strangers on the street or a waitress at Waffle House, and makes them all laugh. He should have been a stand up comedian but instead, you guys have me. #standup #family #formerlawyer #comedian
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