Chapter Ten in The Adventures: The Laugh

Nootchie appears to have two, distinct kinds of laughs.

Laugh “A” is the result of a method, or perhaps I should say THE Method, the one that she has perfected like a true Stanislavsky thespian; it has a rather arch, phony sound. Her attempted recreating of adult social phenomena obviously comes to pass from observing the dynamics and niceties of all those silly people around her who constantly seem to be cracking up- mainly at her antics, though of course she is not fully aware of her role in this situation yet. She just sees a bunch of open, happy, laughing mouths and wants to be like one too.

The laugh goes something like this: Ha! Ha! Ha! Her voice kind of crackles and snaps as she belts out- nay, forces- each “Ha!” in what can only be described as an enthusiastic and petulant sort of way. Occasionally she just shoots out one of those imitative Hahs in an especially firm HAH! Then it’s like a projectile, or a dare, a challenge. It’s similar to the polite but insistent and rather loud “ahem” cough that adults sometimes use and often says look at me! The laugh is her way of asserting herself as a member in good standing of the eccentric laughing tribe with whom she’s been consorting daily. See, I can laugh too! I know how to enjoy myself in small, idiotic, crazily laughing groups!!! Hah! She’s practicing. She knows she can do it.

Laugh Number Two is the real chuckle, the genuine article. It’s the fierce bubble of uncontrolled delight and madcap merriment that occurs during reckless episodes of tickling, swinging, turning upside down, being swished back and forth and other such hilarious infantile adventures in the lunatic and playful world of the uncharted baby wild. Now it’s her turn to crack up, spontaneously and completely, without inhibition. She squeals, screams, giggles uncontrollably and totally allows herself to be the laughing maniac that clearly she has become at that very moment. Wheeeeh! Ooooooh!!!! Yeowwww!!!!

Not even a year old and already she’s learned the art of subtlety.

But just try tickling her, or acting like a friendly monster, or engaging in a raucous turn of upsy daisy, and then see where all that baby sophistication winds up.

  

And so the Nootch continues to scoot along on her tushy, one leg folded in at an angle, the other straight out and fueling a kind of fierce propelling motion; her hands slapping the floor for traction as she moves around through space amazingly fast, speeding through time toward year one.