Send your funniest funnies to Jokes 4 Miles

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Miles Austrevich, 19, and his dad, Len Austrevich.

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By Daryn Kagan, Contributing Writer 12:06 PM Saturday, January 28, 2012

Len Austrevich is laughing.

When you hear his story, you’ll probably ask yourself, “How and why?” I know I did.

His only son, Miles, is 19 and battling his fourth recurrence of brain cancer. When I talked to Len the other day he recounted the nightmare of the last 3 1/2 years.

It started with his son complaining of blurred vision and headaches.

“We thought Miles needed glasses,” Len told me. Instead, it’s been a blur: surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, stem cell replacement therapies, and yes, significant physical pain for his boy, the love of his life.

“It’s robbed him of those wonderful teen years,” Len sighed. “When he should’ve been at school dances and enjoying his first year at Yale. Instead, he’s been in and out of hospitals.”

“Ok, Len,” I picked my moment. “I have to tell you. None of this is funny. How did we get to laughing and jokes?”

“Well, that’s the joke,” Len replied with the perfect timing of a man who has spent his life in the comedy business. Whether running a comedy club, producing comedy acts or writing, Len has made his living through laughing. It’s a love he’s passed onto Miles.

They are determined that cancer doesn’t get the last laugh here. Yes, brain cancer is an incredible battle, but Len and Miles are determined to take back what’s theirs. “20 percent of our time has to be spent discussing medical stuff,” Len acknowledges. “Whatever’s left is ours. And we’re going to use it to laugh.”

That’s how Jokes 4 Miles was born. It started when Miles was holed up in the hospital following his stem cell transplant for three months. Since his kid couldn’t come see comedy, he asked a couple comedian friends to tape a joke on his phone.

“Miles loved it!” Len remembers. It has snowballed from there. Miles has jokes and greetings from Jay Leno, Amy Poehler, Bob Saget and Marie Osmond. Who he really wants is to hear from you.

Len is determined to gather 5,000 jokes for Miles. He’s set up Jokes4Miles.com. They’ve made it really easy for you to use your phone or Web cam to record and upload a joke for Miles. “It can be any kind of joke,” Len insists. “Puns, Knock Knock jokes, even really bad jokes. Just let ’em rip and send them.”

Len and Miles plan to share the power of these jokes that are pouring in from all over the world. There are plans to share them with other kids battling cancer.

Len knows as bad as his family has it, there are other folks going through tough times as well. He’s encouraging you to stop by Jokes4Miles.com, see some of the jokes, and have a laugh of your own. It’s kind of like physics, he told me. “If you’re laughing, you can’t be focused on all the bad stuff. It takes the power away from all the horrible stuff you can’t control. It’s a choice.”

So what do you say? You got a really good, or even better, a really bad joke in you? How about you stop by Jokes4Miles.com and share a good laugh. You’re going to lift the spirits of one incredible teenager and for one moment, the moment you’re telling your joke, you’ll be cured of whatever might be bringing you down today.

Daryn Kagan is the creator of DarynKagan.com. She is the author of “What’s Possible! 50 True Stories of People Who Dared to Dream They Could Make a Difference.”

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