You Had to be There.

I really hate 'you had to be there' stories. If you're in the midst of telling one and you suddenly realize that no one else will find it funny, should you continue to tell the story? What else can you really do? I've often thought of spicing the story up with a sudden murder, or zombies, but would that just make the situation more awkward? If the people knew you had to revive the story, would they think you were even more of a loser? It really sucks when someone just told a great story that was hysterical and you follow up with a 'you had to be there' story, that frankly wrecks the mood, leaving everyone thinking "great, I was having a perfectly nice time until this douche came around and told that pointless story." 'You had to be there' stories can often be awkward (but not as awkward) on the receiving end as well. Should you laugh and pretend to be amused by someone's lame story? Should you just sit there and stare at the person in a way that says, "I don't get you..."? Or would that be rude? Generally, if you are in a rather large group of people not laughing can make the person feel even worse then a one on one situation. I know this, because you had to be there for all of my stories.