Hurricane humor helps Ike survivors

HOUSTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Hurricane humor is helping thousands of people in Houston cope with the difficult aftermath of Hurricane Ike, residents say.

Whether low-brow ("I'd tell you a joke about a roof, but you wouldn't get it. It's over your head") or ironic ("Go way Ike! Tina ain't here!"), the jokes are flowing as Houston residents go about the task of restoring their city, The Houston Chronicle reported Monday.

"People really need that relief valve. It's been a stressful week of no power and pulling trees off roofs," Steph DeWaegeneer, a performer and sales director at west Houston's ComedySportz, told the newspaper, adding the improv group is expecting plenty of requests for gags about gas lines and chain saws.

College of William and Mary professor John Morreall, who has studied humor, warned joking about tragedy takes time, saying: "When you have to rescue your child from the second floor, you have no use for humor. But days later when you catch your breath, kidding and joking allow you to rise above the experience. Humor can be the opposite of stress."