"As soap is to the body, so laughter is to the soul." — A Jewish Proverb

I think I will try and turn the volume down a wee bit for today, on this Wednesday, August 29, 2018. You can always find something to smile about, typically, close to home. The other evening I was talking to the wife in the other room and I reached into the bathroom cabinet for the deodorant. Instead, I came out with a tube of toothpaste. No. I didn't use it, but, I had to take a moment and laugh. At myself. Being of a short stature, I learned quickly not to assume people in the back of the elevator are talking to you. I answered them a time or two only to learn their conversation was directed to someone else. Embarrassing? Yep. But, it was also funny. I heard this one the other day. The mommy was having trouble getting the ketchup to come out of the bottle. The phone rang and her four-year-old daughter answered it. "Oh, hello, Pastor, no, she can't come to the phone right now. She is hitting the bottle." Or, the one about the preacher who told his congregation that on the next Sunday he intended to preach on the sin of lying. He asked that in preparation that everyone should read the text found in Mark Chapter 17. The next Sunday he stood up and asked how many had read Mark Chapter 17. Over half the congregation raised their hands, upon which he let them know he would be preaching on lying because there are only 16 chapters in the Book of Mark. A college student reported how her professor, an avid animal rights defender, accidentally stepped on and squashed a ladybug while he was teaching. He picked it up and tearfully began apologizing to the little critter. The student said she didn't have the heart to tell him he had stepped on a red M and M.

It's best to always have a backup plan. I heard about this young fellow who went with a girl for the first time to a movie. In the middle of the movie, he leaned over and asked her if she would like a kiss. Her angry glare answered his question so he pulled out a bag of Hershey Kisses from his coat and told her he thought he would have one. One guy reported that he had always had trouble in his life. He said he was even once accused of plagiarism in an essay he wrote about his own life. Of course, aging is crammed with one laughable moment after another. One elderly gentleman lamented, "First, you forget names, then you forget faces, after that, you forget to pull up your zipper." An outspoken older lady made her thoughts clear, "Some want to turn back their odometers. I don't. I want people to know why I look this way! I've traveled down many roads in my time and a lot of them were unpaved." Getting old is certainly not for the faint of heart. Here is another insight into the real world of the aged: "Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly widow and asked, 'How old was your husband? '98,' she replied. Two years older than me.' 'So you're 96,' the undertaker commented. She responded, 'Hardly worth going home, is it?'" Maybe this could be our creed: "My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be."

I found most of the thoughts behind these anecdotes scattered here and there out on that internet thingie called the worldwide web-based information highway. My wife prefers funny stuff over the political and cultural subjects I cover from time to time. For me, I go with an 'all of the above' approach, while, always remembering the value of a good laugh from time to time. At the same time, we all know that life is not just one big ole belly laugh. Dr. Seuss recognized this. In his popular book, 'Oh, The Places You'll Go!', he had this sobering thought, "And when you're alone there's a very good chance you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won't want to go on." Realty. However, it's not enough to hold one back as the good doctor explains, "With banner flip-flapping, one more you'll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you're that kind of a guy!" My way of interpreting that is that we should embrace the day we have before us and keep on keeping on. I think I'm going to go with that. Subject to revision, but, it will do for now. Enjoy the rest of your day and may God bless us all is my prayer. Amen. ....More later.