smile therapy

sunrise: 6:11

I have certain images stored in my memory banks that bring a smile to my face - at least for a while.  Sometimes they lose their smile power over time, so I have to replace them with new ones.  Since "studies have shown" that smiling increases both happiness and positive behavior, we should all maintain a smile menu in our mental rolodex (or hard drive, depending on the year of your model).

My most recent entry is a picture sent by T from college.  She took note, apparently, of the fact that this was the first fall in 20 years that we haven't taken first day of school photos.  We got an email with a picture of T on the first day of classes - grinning with her backpack on in her dorm room.  "I thought I'd continue the tradition one more year," she wrote.

The sunrise makes me smile most of the time too, but it loses its power in memory.  It is one of those smile makers for which one must be present for the full benefit.

Everyone reading this should check the status of their smile menu today.  If you're low, you can try a couple of the suggestions at the first link above, or read on.

It is not a great source of pride, but I get giggling at really silly puns.  If they only make you groan, I apologize.  Since I happened to receive some recently I'll share a few:

1. Two antennae met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.

2. A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."

3. Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.

4. A dyslexic man walks into a bra.

5. A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm, and says: "A beer please, and one for the road."

6. Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"

And then there is this more elaborate one:

A woman has identical twins, and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt , and is named "Ahmal." The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've
seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."

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Here is a purple aster - one of fall's small beauties - lit by dawn light.