Healing humor

When he saw an elderly woman sitting forlornly in the waiting area of the Saint Peter’s University Hospital Emergency Department, Joe Cardone knew just what he had to do. After asking first if the woman minded talking to him, he said: “You seem depressed.”

When he saw forlornly in the waiting area of the Saint Peter’s University Hospital Emergency Department, Joe Cardone knew just what he had to do. After asking first if the woman minded talking to him, he said: “You seem depressed.”

“I am,” said the woman, who was waiting while a friend received treatment. “I’m 84, and everything in my body is breaking down.”

“Well, what have you bought in your life that hasn’t broken down?” Cardone asked. “Imagine what your car would look like after 84 years! There is nothing on earth as strong as your body.”

The woman smiled. And Cardone had done his job—helping people accept difficult situations through humor and positive thinking.

Cardone, 70, is a “humor volunteer” at Saint Peter’s. Every Tuesday, this former stand-up comedian spends the day on the oncology unit, in the Emergency Department or wherever else in the hospital he finds a need for a laugh. And he administers that famous “best medicine” to whoever needs it—patients, family members, visitors and even doctors and nurses—along with the psychological boost laughter is known to provide.

He also works with children who suffer from emotional and behavioral difficulties in the hospital’s “For KEEPS” program. KEEPS stands for Kids Embraced and Empowered through Psychological Services. Cardone uses humor and magic to help students from 5 to 17 deal with anger and a low self-image. “I talk to them about learning through hard work, respect and honesty,” says Cardone. “I perform some magic tricks and then show them how they’re done. Learning these tricks really helps these students build self-esteem.”

Cardone, who lives in Piscataway with Justine, his wife of 48 years (they have two grown children and two grandchildren), grew up in a funny family in Pennsylvania. “My parents had a small grocery, and when they closed on Friday everyone gathered and told jokes,” he says. “I joined in, and people thought I was funny too.”

In his 20s, Cardone had a comedy act with a partner, and then went solo, playing the Poconos’ “Borscht Belt” with a one-liner style he compares to Henny Youngman and Jackie Mason. He also went to college, earning a master’s degree in education. He then spent more than 38 years teaching and supervising in the Metuchen School District and at Middlesex County College.

Well before he retired in 2003, “I knew I didn’t want to just sit home and watch TV,” says Cardone. “I had learned in teaching that if you use comedy effectively, you can enhance learning. I wanted to keep doing that as a humor consultant and inspirational speaker.”

He started at Saint Peter’s soon after he retired. When he first meets someone, he mostly listens. “I learn a lot from patients,” he says. “You see life differently when you’re ill, and it’s important for me to understand how they feel.” When the time seems right, he’ll offer inspirational words and, “if the occasion arises, I’ll do some one-liners,” he says. “Laughter creates positive emotions by releasing chemicals such as endorphins and dopamine. It also boosts the immune system. And you can’t be angry and laugh at the same time. Try it—you just can’t.”

Like any entertainer, Cardone gets as much fulfillment from his work as his listeners do, if not more. “One of the best feelings for a comic is when you make them laugh and walk off the stage—you’re on a high,” he says. “When I can make a patient laugh and he or she asks me to come visit again later, that’s an even better feeling than leaving a nightclub floor.”