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Acknowledgments
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Writer and humorist Robert Benchley once quipped that “defining and analyzing humor is a pastime of humorless people.” While the study of disaster may not be the most cheery subject on the surface, this project has been a real labor of love. Between the many hours of solitude that I spent in the dark corners of libraries or sifting through endless scholarly articles at the office, there were many people who donated their time, energy, and kindness to me in the process of completing this book. I am honored to count them as friends. First and foremost, my wife and soul mate, Angelina, has been a constant source of love, happiness, and humor since we met, and I am so grateful to have her as my partner and pillar of support. Her unwavering enthusiasm for my work—even after the many hours, days, and nights that I spent plugging away at it in an empty, lonely corner of our home—has been a welcome and wonderful reprieve from the grind. My parents, Bruce and Anita; my sister, Natalie; and my fantastic in-laws, Phil, Laura, and Christy Sanfilippo and Rick and Janie Miller, have all been great (as usual) and have supported me and provided many days of pleasant distraction. Also, of course, my delightful Beagle mix, Penny, has always offered her affection whenever I felt frazzled. I wish to thank and recognize my mentor, Simon J. Bronner—to whom this work is dedicated—whose guidance, patience, and generosity have been invaluable during the completion of this research. Simon has been instrumental in shaping the trajectory of my research interests, and I am thankful for his interest and commitment to deepening my understanding and appreciation for the study of American folklore and folklife. Above all, he has played a crucial role in my intellectual development and has shown great faith in my numerous projects, even those that fell within the outskirts of typical scholarly inquiry. I am grateful for his support, and I know that any student would be xxvii Acknowledgments lucky to call him a friend and mentor. I am also indebted to Michael Barton, John Haddad, Charles Kupfer, and Girish Subramanian for their service, dedication , and helpful suggestions throughout the completion of this manuscript. There is no doubt in my mind that this work could not have been successfully completed without the astute eye and rational opinions of several outstanding scholars who graciously donated their time in reviewing several early versions of chapters within this work. As such, I would like to extend a special thank-you to my friends and colleagues Erika Brady, Rebekah Burch- field, Celia Cain, Jennifer Dutch, Elaine Eff, Tim Evans, Craig Gill, Sandra Grady, Spencer Lincoln Green, Julia Kelso, Laurie Matheson, Judith McCulloh , Mark Miyake, and Leonard Primiano. I owe a special thanks to Elizabeth Tucker, who really went above and beyond in extending her time and generosity in both this endeavor as well as other scholarly pursuits. I am also grateful to Donald Allport Bird, Charley Camp, Patrick Clarke, Bill Ellis, Gary Alan Fine, Stephen Olbrys Gencarella, Lindsay Harlow, Robert Glenn Howard, Michael Owen Jones, Lynne S. McNeill, Montana Miller, David Puglia, Steve Stanzak, Tok Thompson, and Jeff Tolbert for their time and useful comments on early ideas and trajectories that have permeated this book. At the ripe old age of ten, I can recall promising myself that I would someday only pursue a career in a line of work that could make me truly happy. Nearly two decades later, I am so thankful and honored to have found such a calling in the study of folklore. Many of my students smile from ear to ear whenever I tell them about the work of folklorists, and it is a true privilege to be a member of this discipline. For this project, and for the many that preceded it (and those that will follow), I owe a debt of gratitude to the American Folklore Society and its constituents. The organization’s enthusiastic support of my research at conferences and workshops has been invaluable for the completion of this manuscript. The challenging and thought-provoking conversations that took place during annual meetings and other allied events have been incredibly beneficial. In some ways, many of the chapters for this book were approached as “mini research projects,” and numerous colleagues are due thanks for their support and advice in the development of this work. Some case studies struck closer...