Cheerio, old chap!

Smiles. Laughter. We need more of both in this world.

Here’s some things that have lifted my spirits in recent weeks.

—The English language is crazy. Can it get any crazier? We have a simple way of greeting others: Hello. But for some reason that’s not enough. We needed to make it more complicated. We’ve found hundreds of ways to say “Hey, how ya doing?” Here’s just a few that jump out at me. They include:

There’s even Matthew McConaughey’s classic line “Alright, alright, alright” and an older classic, “What’s crackin?” I’ll keep it simple today: “Hiya friends, it’s good to see you!”

—The most rewarding thing I’ve seen on the web. Two different pictures. The first is of an older couple walking on the beach. The sun is at their backs and they’re holding hands. The second picture is of another older couple. They have more gray hairs than I’m sure they would like to count. They’re at an amusement park. The lights of the park are lit up and they’re high in the air on the Amusement Park Swings. They’re reaching out trying to hold hands. Who said amusement parks are just for kids?

—We’re down to two bowls in our kitchen. Why does that make me happy? It makes me happy because it shows that the glasses, plates, dishes have been well used. They’ve been chipped or cracked. It means we’re a family. Of course, we probably should replace them. I have to admit that it would be nice to have a clean bowl when I want one, instead of pulling one out of the sink to wash it.

—Funny but true. Stolen from a meme: “Mentally I’m still 24, humor wise I’m 12, but physical I’m pretty sure | fought in the Civil War.” I would probably change it to say:

• Mentally I’m still 30 and think I can still run a 5k in the low 20s.
• Humor wise I’m still 15 and laugh every time Norm shows up on Cheers or when pilot Ted Striker in the silly movie Airplane says to Leslie Nielsen, “Surely you can’t be serious?” and Nielsen responds, “I am serious… and don’t call me Shirley.”
• And physically, I feel like I went a few rounds in the latest WWE wrestling match. I’m really a wrestler and go by the name the Amazing Brian! Yea, I don’t win a lot of matches.

—Mimeograph paper. Who remembers the smell?

—The wisdom of Ted Lasso: “I hope that either all of us or none of us are judged by the actions of our weakest moments, but rather by the strength we show when and if we’re ever given a second chance.”

—The words in red. Feed the poor. Help the sick. Love your enemies. “And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'” Matthew 25:40.

—I was looking through some photos of a trip I took to Spain more than ten years ago. I look so different in the pictures. But, every picture reminds me of what a great big world we live in. I feel fortunate to have traveled. “Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” Gustave Flaubert.

—Some good old homespun advice.

• Parents detect fake friends.
• Kids detect fake relatives.
• Friends detect fake love.

—Waiting in line the other day, I heard a mother tell her child: “Pretty is as pretty does.” The idea being that your actions and behavior are what define your beauty and character, not your appearance. Hear, hear.