Comedic Timing?

I unintentionally made an entire movie theater laugh last weekend.

I was at the movie Red. We were all engrossed in its tranquil opening scenes when out of no where the bad guys appeared on screen, and I gasped out loud.

Really loudly. In fact, it may have been more like a combination yelp/scream.

At first when people started to laugh, I thought that I had missed something funny in the split second that I had yelped and closed my eyes. But when I asked my date why everyone was laughing, he said:

"They're laughing at you!"

Oops. At least this time I did not leave the theater with a bruised elbow. That happened in another movie when bad guys startled me, and I banged my funny bone on the plastic cup holder.

I blame my jumpiness on my younger brothers, who spent our growing-up years hiding behind doors and in hallways waiting to spring on me.

They would also laugh at my tormented reaction, but then they would get pummeled.

I almost pummeled my roommate the other day when I screamed like a baby when she walked through the front door. I was engrossed in the mail, and she was wearing a hood. I don't think she thought it was very funny.

But no one got pummeled at the movie theater, and I was happy to offer the afternoon-movie-goers some additional entertainment.

(N.B. Please excuse the sheep costume in the picture. It was the closest thing I had to a surprised/shocked/startled shot.)