All he wanted to do was make people laugh.
Nobody realized he was the worst comedian in the world.
Sometimes he had his doubts, but he carried on.
There was always someone who laughed during his act.
They weren’t laughing with him, but that was something, right?

It wasn’t that he wasn’t funny.
But the quips that were screamingly insightful in conversation died on the stage.
It wasn’t even that his jokes were bad.
He stole shamelessly from other, funnier comedians.
He practiced his timing in the mirror until he was pitch perfect.
Nothing worked.

In desperation he went to an old Roma woman and asked for advice.
“Let me hear your stuff, kid,” she said. “Hit me with your worst shot.”
He told her his least favorite joke.
She howled with laughter.
He told her his best joke.
She nearly passed out from laughing so hard.

Six months later they were married.
He was still the worst comedian in the world.
But she was the best audience in the world, so it all balanced out.