A little, Tootie Fruity.

Laughter is super important in many aspects of life. Without it, this world would be somber. Laughter is like a light no one can see. It helps us feel better on our worst days, and makes us feel amazing on our best ones. It helps let our personalities shine through, and helps to let those around us feel welcomed.

About maybe 10 minutes or so into our joke session, the old lady had already gone, and now it was just us in the isle alone. There was this one bag of off-brand cereal, that looked like it was the off- brand version of Froot Loops, and it was called, “Tootie Fruities”. Her and I are both Bisexual, and it just so happened that night my friend was super gassy. Her and I started cracking jokes about both of us being fruity, so our jokes that night ended up being about “Tootie Fruities”. Her and I thought it was the funniest thing, but then my friend and I heard from an isle over, someone starting to laugh. Her and I of course thought this was super funny, but we loved it. My friend, right there, in that isle, ripped a fart, and her and I just about died laughing, (like the immature 16 year old’s we were). Then we heard the laugh from the other isle again.

We started to make jokes again, and by this point her and I were really loud. My friend then decided to make a joke about us being bi, and of course, being fruity. I don’t remember exactly what she said, but what I can remember, is that same old woman who was in the isle with us before, comes around the corner, and is laughing hysterically. She looks at my friend and I, and says, “You know, you two girls seem like a lot of fun”, then she proceeded to say how she hasn’t laughed in a while, but this made her night. The reason it had made her night, was because her husband, was gay. She knew he was, but he hadn’t come out of the closet yet, so to speak. She explained to us that she was shopping at Walmart because she was literally getting her husband a bunch of different things to help him come out.

The last thing I can remember her saying to us, was that her husband, whom she’d been with for a little over 8 years at this point, has always been gay, but she didn’t realize until one night when she said him and her had been out shopping, and he kept making subtle hints about being gay. Apparently she didn’t take him seriously at first, but as a little more time went on, she realized that these were things she missed picking up on. So she was here at Walmart tonight to get things to support him, but in a genuine, funny way. The last thing she said to us before she left, made my friend and I chuckle. She said something to the effect of, “I know this can come across the wrong way, but when I was younger, everyone was a little fruity”. She proceeded to make a fart noise with her mouth, and then she proceeded to point at the bag of cereal and say, “everyone was, a little Tootie Fruity.”

It might not be as funny to others as it was to us that night, but that woman has had a lasting impact on us, and we have absolutely not forgotten her. She was so funny, and I still hope she is doing well. This is what laughter does, it brings people together. Even in someone’s darkest moments, laughter is light we all need.

“Govanhill photoshoot at the Arches, Glasgow: Laughing” by TheArches is licensed under CC BY 2.0