Annalisa is a Pisces who volunteers in an ER. She texts me "the patient of the day", typically some lunatic with an invisible friend or the like.

I have decided to reproduce her texts here for your amusement. (She has Gemini) Here is today's:

No patient of the day. They r all dying!

Wow, that's sour!

That is amusing to my Gemini, in a very gallows way!

Well, I guess it might have helped to put some of the other texts to introduce but I just cleared my in box so...

It actually struck me as funny but I guess I have context.  I assure you she did not intend "sour".  But what are you supposed to do when the people are dropping like flies and what do you want from her anyway? She's in there working trying to save them for Godsakes and for no pay!

Er... sometimes the ER is very poppy but not today! I don't know what to say. Annalisa and I are borne of strange parents. I thought it was funny.  People on the front lines do this you know. If they could not do this I don't expect they could be on the front lines.

Oh I hear you - my double Pisces best friend used to text me, when she was doing an ER rotation, about the guy who got flattened by the forklift, or the patients who are too fat to have a c-section.  (Identities all protected, of course.) If I or someone didn't laugh with her, I'm sure it would have been oppressively depressing.

It's like cops and detectives, there's a special brand of humor.  Sometimes it's cynical, sometimes it's "I have to laugh or I'm going to cry or go crazy."  Or like being in a war, I would assume, seeing things most people don't see.  Your normal is not mainstream normal, you see extremes.  I have to admit I chuckled when I read that text, and I'm not in any extreme situations, but who know what that says about me!

It reminds of when I stood up in front of the window when we were told to crouch down so we would not get shot. She was crouched down and looked up at me - told me to get down so I was not shot... "I don't want your blood all over me," she said,

Ha ha ha ha.

We were like... 10 and 12 at the time and I don't see anything about "sour" about the ability to find humor. We are Moon Jupiter and we are going out of this world with a smile on our face, regardless! Regardless of what sour people think of that, LOL.

Oh I have Moon Jupiter too.  Perhaps that's it.  :)

Further, I have acted pretty %&*$ crazy myself in the ER before. I mean if you're in there, chances are you are stressed so people like Annalisa who can keep a cool head and some humor are super valuable. I know I have been unreasonable in an ER and met someone like her, see?  Makes her look like heaven / angel on earth - pure Pisces but she does have Gem and she does have Moon Jupiter so she is going to be rowdy, daaaamn.

She's Moon conjunct Jupiter in SADGE so you know. She's going to crack jokes on your ass but it beats the hell out of some sad sack volunteer when you're in the hospital dying or trying to. She's the kind of person the crazies would go there to see. It's like when I was a waitress, you definitely wanted to be sat in my section.

haha

something about hospitals turns me into a comedian when I am there, which isn't always good. Doesn't really support how crappy/in pain I'm trying to get across.

I'd have an arrow through me and still be smiley/jokey.

...i wish i had something in sadge...my jupiter conjuct saturn and glumpity glum...

 i had dream about annalise and elsa a few nights ago...i woke up laughing so maybe sadge seeped in there....you were kids, annalisa was putting on a fashion show and elsa  wanted to participate but wasn't quite sure...so there was a lot of choregraphed dancing of some older girls  and elsa keeping in line there...then suddenly it turned to figure skating and elsa took deep breath (looking about 7 or 8 years old in my dream) and went for one of those really low spins...and she was spinning and spinning and just kept spinning while all the other skaters were back in their row....and i don't know how to explain it but felt like quintissential elsa.....now i know you probaby weren't skating in the desert...but there you were 

i know, bird-walking here....i guess i was trying to walk on by the ER room...but all respect for annelisa for volunteering there

I work at a nursing home  and Elsa's definitely right. If you don't have a sense of humor about this stuff, you definitely would be affected by it in ways that might not be easy to handle.

I used to volunteer in a hospice for the dying and i'll never forget the day i came in and asked about an old gal i really loved"

"how's mrs so and so?"

"well we thought she was going to die til she took a huge crap"

indeed, you have to laugh or you'd cry...

I lol'd. I guess dark humor isn't for everyone.

My husband was studying to be an EMT a long time ago. His textbook came with a study CD. The CD had some "extras" which were just fun little things. They had some puzzles that you put together on the computer. When you put them together, they became these huge awful disgusting sores, injuries, etc. I thought that was funny.

I agree, when in a repeatedly stressful situation, a sense of humor is a must. You'll get burnt out otherwise. 

Oh, I worked at a nursing home years ago, in the social work department.  I had to leave, I just couldn't handle walking in and seeing empty rooms, cause, you knew what happened, and, I really got close to those people - some jobs are definitely not for everyone.

gallows humor... sometimes it's the only way to stay sane

I snickered.  Dark or dry humor is right up my alley.

I have a friend who recently moved to be RT on a crisis team.  She texted me the other night: "Ambulances have no bathrooms and I HAVE TO PEE!  If this guy doesn't shut up, he's getting doused!"  *snert*

yeah, having spent some time working with the crazies, frequent fliers, freaks and hysterical people - i say without hesitation you'd better laugh or you'll burn out within a week or two.

Here's detox story for you. I was doing an intake on a guy who had made a "suicidal gesture" by hitting himself upside the head with a 2 x4. He said he intended to kill himself this way.

him: I have a really bad headache.

me: Does that surprise you?

him: Well, I guess it's better than the last time...

me: The last time? You mean you've done this before?

him: Yeah. Last time I tried this, I knocked myself out.

me: You may want to rethink your strategy here.

And yes, we laughed our asses off. 

There was dark humour when i worked in news. We had a death watch on the pope. Having to edit someone's obituary story in advance led to a lot of detatchement. Also a lot of the footage we'd see.. at first it would shock but by the time it had aired a million times it lost sensitivity and the jokes would come out.

I thought the comment was funny.  

I can't repeat many of the things my husband and I laugh about.  Our natal Mercuries are conjunct in Sag.  Our humor isn't acceptable to most people.   

goddess, that is awesome.