Taking a moment to laugh

When the daily news gets to be too heavy, I enjoy a light-hearted diversion.

With the George Zimmerman trial and other heavy topics lately, the news has been disheartening. And so it's time to pause for a laugh or two.

I saw something on the Internet and it made me smile. Oddly, it was a death notice. It was very short, but the idea was clever, and so I took the liberty to develop the item more fully in order to maximize the fun.

After all, it's not every day we can smile about an obituary. But this one is special.

Death announced

The Pillsbury Doughboy died Monday of a severe yeast infection. He was 71. The infection may have arisen last winter when he slipped on icing and fell on his buns.

An autopsy showed that there were complications from repeated pokes to the belly.

Doughboy will always be remembered for his fresh outlook on life and a sugar-coated approach to the sour drops that fall every so often.

Doughboy rose quickly in show business but his later life was filled with many turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes.

But he loved to chuckle and always smiled when people mistook him for the Michelin man.

Friends say he had a bad temper which was known to boil over. And his mannerisms could be raw. He was sometimes hard-boiled.

Despite being a little flaky, even as a crusty old man, he was considered a roll model for millions.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours, as mourners offered their final salutations and cheerios.

Longtime friend Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy, describing Doughboy as a man who "never knew how much he was kneaded."

Captain Crunch recalled when he and Doughboy fell asleep on the beach on a sunny day and Doughboy woke up "burnt to a turn."

Doughboy also had lost considerable weight in recent months. He definitely appeared thinner, and he attributed it to a new rolling pin.

Toward the end it was thought he'd rise once again, but Doughboy was no tart.

Doughboy is survived by his second wife, Play Dough. They have two children, and one in the oven.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes. Those who attended say the short service was underdone; it didn't allow time for everyone to pay their respects. And Doughboy deserved more.

So his friends and supporters have decided to sponsor a yearly covered dish to honor Doughboy's resilience.

It will probably take place in the fall and is sure to become a seasonal delight.

The only request is that guests bring along something poppin' fresh. After all, everyone knows that Pillsbury does it best.

And just maybe, the main entre will come from those delightful specialities of the TIMES NEWS Comfort and Joy series.

Doughboy would have wanted it that way.