Dear Jimmy Fallon,
Thank you for making me laugh until I was crying last night. The last time that happened I was watching Jim Gaffigan talk about the kinds of bread Jesus multiplied when he fed the five thousand. I had to make TJ stop the TV because I was laughing so hard it hurt. I found the Jim Gaffigan transcript online just now so I could remember what I thought was so funny. It’s just not the same as watching him, but you get the point.
Anyway, Jimmy Fallon, last night watching you was the same kind of laughter, the kind that counts as medicine. And wow, it is just what I needed that I didn’t know I needed at a time like this.
TJ’s friend Josh told him about your At Home Edition of The Tonight Show, so late last night when I would usually be reading Wendell Berry short stories until I couldn’t keep my eyes open, TJ and I sat in bed together with the iPad and watched you. We started with the first one from St. Patrick’s Day, then we watched the one of you on your front porch (which also had the interview with Jennifer Garner), and then the one you did from the tent you set up in your backyard. Oh my, your girls Winnie and Frannie were adorable in that last one!
But my favorite part of watching you last night was your segment called #MyQuarantineInSixWords, where you shared what people had tweeted with the hashtag you made up. Here are a few I liked best:
This morning, upon waking, I found myself lying in bed trying to think of my own #MyQuarantineInSixWords. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
I miss meeting friends at Tandem.
“Kids, be quiet, or GO OUTSIDE!”
Stay in TODAY and I’m okay.
Book of Common Prayer page 670.
I love not making school lunches.
So much for low technology Lent.
Livestream church, better than I imagined.
It’s so nice to sleep in.
I forget, what day is it?
Finally grateful for too much Lego.
Good thing I like staying home!
That was really fun to think about, so thanks for sparking my creativity with that segment on your show. Now I want to have the kids make up their own six word reflections at dinner tonight, to get a window into how their minds and hearts are processing the current circumstances.
I also want to watch more of your At Home Editions, Jimmy Fallon. I didn’t know you were so funny, or does it seem funnier because you’re at your house and I can see your kids and hear you talk to your wife while she films you? Or do I just like you because we both like to write thank you notes? That was a great segment too!
I thought the best one from that segment was Thank you, homeschooling, for basically being 20 minutes of work and six hours of “educational” Disney movies. We haven’t gotten to that point yet, but a movie a day is a small price to pay to keep calm and carry on. In the past week, my girls have watched Tarzan, Tarzan II, Duck Duck Goose, The Good Dinosaur, and Joseph: King of Dreams…plus we watched WALL-E as a family. Thank you, Netflix. Thank you, Disney Plus.
And thank you, Jimmy Fallon, thank you!
Your new fan,
Ginger Friesen