Listen, when I say “literally” I don’t mean that I was “literally” on my deathbed in desperate need of a blood donor when somebody named “Dad Joke,” wearing a velour jumpsuit and packing some much needed O Negative, swept in and saved my life.

But it was pretty close to that and not just one time. There was one very specific, very crucial time in particular, the day I met the person who would later become my wife.

Let me start by saying that Dad Jokes are awesome and are so much more than an oddly timed and equally hilarious pun. They also present a different way of thinking about life, love, people, …food, you name it. Some people (mostly me) might say it’s a better way of thinking through things.

If you disagree with me, you just haven’t heard a good one yet.

So how did a dad joke save my life?  One was the beginning of a whole newlife for me. A beautiful, smart, and hilarious woman I had just met found one so funny that she agreed to keep talking to me, eventually date, and then six years later agreed to be my wife.

Now you’re probably thinking what was the joke? Well wait no longer…

Dad Joke: I was in the back of a cab with my future wife on the way home from a night out. As we drove past a large, well-lit cemetery, I casually got her attention with a tap on her arm, pointed out the graveyard, and blurted out “You know, people are dyiiiing to get in there!”

There was a pause at first.

But then it was laughs for days.

After she caught her breath, she replied with a “Hey you know how many people are dead in there?

“How many?” I asked.

ALL OF THEM!” she exclaimed.

And the rest, as they say, is history…

But this scenario is another shining example of the power Dad Jokes possess.

They make you fully aware of your environment and its potential. They make you realize your world is just one giant sphere of potential. And in that potential is the promise of genuine interaction, the basis with which to build a lasting connection.

Don’t take my word for it but if you follow the basics, environment + funny, you’ll land more than the punchline. You’ll land a meaningful relationship with a person you’ll fall in love with.

You may even write a gorgeous love song for that person, kind of like me and my piano ballad “It’s Always Been You” [out May 13 – mark your calendars].

But all shameless plugs aside…take a chance, trust in the dad jokes. You won’t be disappointed.

Image by photographer Alex Iby