I'll start. Here is my answer to the question. The reason they were laughing is because I seemed to talk so openly and freely about wide-ranging topics. I didn't seem to be embarrassed by anything I might say, but I didn't want to embarrass them. They were thinking something like, "This old coot. (I'm seventy-one.) He doesn't care what he says, or to whom he says it. But he's polite about it." Whether that's the right or wrong answer, it's funny to me. I can see someone laughing about that.
No, no, no. You're all wet. They're laughing at you because you're saying you're glad they're, or Dr. Godley's, not embarrassed. But they've done nothing to be embarrassed about. You're the one who normally should be embarrassed. You're getting close to the "M" word, which is even more of a third rail than Israel's control of US Middle East foreign policy. You're the one who's not embarrassed, but who possibly should be.