Why the joke never stops — the dark humor gives me peace™

The reason the punchline runs forever (the endless press; the Aristocrats told clean — the joke whose whole form is that it doesn't end). The joke never stops because stopping is the thing he's outrunning. Dark humor isn't denial here; it's the opposite — it's looking straight at the worst of it and refusing to let it have the last word (the semicolon as comedy: the sentence could end, and he keeps it going on purpose). For a man who lost his father the way he did, a laugh in the dark is not making light of the weight; it's carrying it — the peace is in proving, one more bit at a time, that you're still here to make the joke. That's why the house is a joke wearing an argument as pants: the comedy is load-bearing because the thing underneath it is real. Kin: the dignity floor, companionship work, occasional safety hazards, the One Lie kept seeable. (His coin — machine's read, held with care; refine to his.)