"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee." Abraham Lincoln

I see you did show up. Thanks for coming. I welcome you to this edition of my version of This, That, and the Other. It is Wednesday, March 20, 2013, and let me tell you we have had the stuff raining down on us this week. No. Not the wet stuff. The yellow green stuff. It has been pollen city around these parts and it shows no letting up anytime soon. I'm thankful it doesn't impact me personally as much as it does many others. I talk to quite a few people each day who are under a bombardment from the allergy enemy. They always sound like they are impersonating someone who has a scratchy and distorted voice. We've got the pollen, the weeping pine tree resin, the molds and the mildews, and to top it off, we hit 90 degrees this past Monday. It was just this time last week I was thumping my chest over some mid 30's. Add to all of this the out of sight humidity and it causes us to seek out the long range forecast looking for love in hopefully the right place. If and that is an if, the forecast is right, which is highly debatable, but if it is, then we have some mid 40's still awaiting us over the next 10 days. I join Bob Barker in calling on these lower temperatures to, "Come on down!"

I was talking to a lady the other day about the assortment of beverages they featured in their break area. They had a cabinet filled up with those little flavored containers that you pop into the Keurig and brew yourself up a cup. She was an older lady. I say that but she may not be older than me but she seemed that way to me. I have that happen quite often. I see other folks and they look like someone I've seen before. Maybe it was on one of those AARP commercials or perhaps one of those burial policy advertisements. But, at any rate, I told her how sad it was that she didn't have any coffee. She was stunned. "Sir, I'll have you know that we've got just about every flavor of coffee anyone could want." I explained to her that unless you have Community represented in your portfolio, then, based on my analysis, you still have no coffee. She actually served me up with one of those "I never!" kind of looks like you see on those British sitcoms. It was all in fun but I sure was glad that her eyes didn't get stuck or anything when she was doing her best to roll them at me.

Please don't write me about being mean to older people. You have to know that while that little story was true, I did embellish it up some. Some. A little. In fact, I may need to get someone to vouch for me with that lady so that she really does know that I was only kidding. A little. But, humor is an important part of life. It sure helps to be able to chuckle now and then as one makes their way through the maze we all travel. Here's what one essayist had to say about laughter: "Laughing stirs up the blood, expands the chest, electrifies the nerves, clears away the cobwebs from the brain, and gives the whole system a cleansing rehabilitation." She was quoting an unknown author for that statement but she then proceeded to outline all the positives that come when we laugh. The benefits, including medical, are many. And, she made it clear that when one lacks material they need only look to themselves. Here's her closing statement: "Ethel Barrymore once said, 'You grow up the day you have your first real laugh, at yourself.' The ability to see humor in real life is priceless, and there is a never-ending supply of material.  Start looking around and live life in the laugh lane!" Maybe I should print out that article, wrap it around a pound of Community, and send it to that dear sweet eye rolling lady. Or maybe not. Have a great day and may God bless each one. Amen.    .....More later.