Start the day with laughter -- or at least a smile --

[libby]

One of four people in this country is mentally unbalanced.

Think of your three closest friends.

If they seem okay, then you're the one!

[Bo D]

I guess I'm OK. I have been posting with RC for years now, so that qualifies him.

Yep ... he's the one in my group! 

[libby]

I guess I'm OK. I have been posting with RC for years now, so that qualifies him.

Yep ... he's the one in my group! 

And I've been posting with both of you for a long time and ...  and ... uh ...

[libby]

Yesterday evening I was leaving a bookstore when I saw something out of the corner of my eye and then felt it brush my neck. I thought, "what the heck was that?" and then realized the 'something' had landed on my shoulder and then almost immediately flew up and away with a chirp that sounded kinda like a bird. I got a good look at it -- it was a cicada. 

[Henry Hawk]

Yesterday evening I was leaving a bookstore when I saw something out of the corner of my eye and then felt it brush my neck. I thought, "what the heck was that?" and then realized the 'something' had landed on my shoulder and then almost immediately flew up and away with a chirp that sounded kinda like a bird. I got a good look at it -- it was a cicada. 

This is the year for cicada's to come in flocks....every 17 years they have a hay day, especially in the eastern states....

[libby]

We've got them --  a lot of them -- but not swarms. The chorus was a little bothersome at first, but after a while you don't notice. Interesting fact: the males are the ones who're singing.

[Bo D]

This is the year for cicada's to come in flocks....every 17 years they have a hay day, especially in the eastern states....

Why is this such a hard concept to explain? Periodical cicadas have a life cycle of 13 or 17 years. Different broods of periodical cicadas emerge every year. Some broods are larger than others.

Cicadas of all other species (perhaps 3000 worldwide) are not synchronized, so some adults mature each summer and emerge while the rest of the population continues to develop underground. Many people refer to these non-periodical species as annual cicadas since some are seen every summer. The life cycles of most annual species range from two to ten years, although some could be longer.

Periodical cicadas are grouped into broods based on the calendar year when they emerge.

In 1907, entomologist C. L. Marlatt assigned Roman numerals to 30 different broods of periodical cicadas: 17 distinct broods with a 17-year life cycle, to which he assigned brood numbers I through XVII (with emerging years 1893 through 1909); plus 13 broods with a 13-year cycle, to which he assigned brood numbers XVIII through XXX (1893 through 1905).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodical_cicadas

[libby]

Haven't had much to laugh about lately, but keep trying, or at least remembering to smile. I do believe we can change our state of mind, at least temporarily by laughing or smiling, because when we do it activates certain muscles which in turn signals the subconscious mind that we're happy, and that triggers certain  other processes in the brain that ...  uh, well, anyway ... an aunt, one who was crippled and not all that pretty, said to me once, when I was a little girl, "Libby, stop frowning. If you do that too much your face will freeze like that and you'll be an ugly old person." That made perfect sense to that little girl I used to be. 

So what did I have to start this day with a smile?  I sat in my easy chair and looked out the window, which faces the back yard:

I have Rose of Sharon plants that are like small trees, and they began blooming overnight about 3 days ago.  -- thick with big white and pale lilac flowers. And in the background there's my crape myrtle tree, also blooming -- smaller clusters of deep pink flowers. And beyond that, trees on the little hill behind my house.   

[libby]

Went to Fresh Foods to find some sweet pickles without high fructose corn syrup, and then went looking for some hot sauce. A young man, I'd say maybe 22-23, was stocking shelves and looked up and asked if he could help me.  I said yes, that I was looking for hot sauce, and he said, with a straight face, "Should I pour myself into a bottle?" I looked up at him and started laughing, and he joined me, then walked me, still laughing, to the hot sauce. Funny thing is, he was a nice-looking young black man, and I am a white lady old enough to be his mother and then some. I still laugh when I think about it.

[Sandy Eggo]

Good line!

New ad:

At Fresh Foods everything is fresh, even the employees!

[libby]

Good line!

New ad:

At Fresh Foods everything is fresh, even the employees!

[libby]

At a time when it seems like the whole world is going crazy, a kind word, a smile, a helping hand, means a lot.

Today I went to Costco to pick up a few things, including a big package of Cokes (30 cans, I think) for someone else. Quite a bargain -- about 30 cents a can.  Anyway, I am not strong enough to pick up something like that, so I looked around for a man to lift it into my cart. A woman with a boy who looked to be about 16 walked towards me, and I asked him for help. He did it with a smile, I thanked him and his mother, and walked on. After I got through the crowded check-out section, I headed toward the exit, hoping I could find somebody outside to help me get the cokes into my car.  And then, in that very crowded big store, a man in the next aisle walked up to me and said he'd seen me getting help with the cokes, and would help me load my car. I thanked him with a smile. Turned out he was parked near the front of the store, while I was way out at the other end in an overflow section. He said that was not a problem, that he would walk me to my car and then back to his own. As we walked, I noticed that he had on a shirt with a small Toyota logo, and asked him which dealership he worked for. I told him that's where I bought my Toyota and have it serviced, and he said he thought he'd seen me before. I said I'd thought the same about him. Anyway, when we got to my car, he unloaded everything for me,  I thanked him, we chatted a minute or two more, and then went our separate ways.

There are nice people everywhere. 

[me]

At a time when it seems like the whole world is going crazy, a kind word, a smile, a helping hand, means a lot.

Today I went to Costco to pick up a few things, including a big package of Cokes (30 cans, I think) for someone else. Quite a bargain -- about 30 cents a can.  Anyway, I am not strong enough to pick up something like that, so I looked around for a man to lift it into my cart. A woman with a boy who looked to be about 16 walked towards me, and I asked him for help. He did it with a smile, I thanked him and his mother, and walked on. After I got through the crowded check-out section, I headed toward the exit, hoping I could find somebody outside to help me get the cokes into my car.  And then, in that very crowded big store, a man in the next aisle walked up to me and said he'd seen me getting help with the cokes, and would help me load my car. I thanked him with a smile. Turned out he was parked near the front of the store, while I was way out at the other end in an overflow section. He said that was not a problem, that he would walk me to my car and then back to his own. As we walked, I noticed that he had on a shirt with a small Toyota logo, and asked him which dealership he worked for. I told him that's where I bought my Toyota and have it serviced, and he said he thought he'd seen me before. I said I'd thought the same about him. Anyway, when we got to my car, he unloaded everything for me,  I thanked him, we chatted a minute or two more, and then went our separate ways.

There are nice people everywhere. 

I find that to be true.   

[Purplelady1040]

At a time when it seems like the whole world is going crazy, a kind word, a smile, a helping hand, means a lot.

Today I went to Costco to pick up a few things, including a big package of Cokes (30 cans, I think) for someone else. Quite a bargain -- about 30 cents a can.  Anyway, I am not strong enough to pick up something like that, so I looked around for a man to lift it into my cart. A woman with a boy who looked to be about 16 walked towards me, and I asked him for help. He did it with a smile, I thanked him and his mother, and walked on. After I got through the crowded check-out section, I headed toward the exit, hoping I could find somebody outside to help me get the cokes into my car.  And then, in that very crowded big store, a man in the next aisle walked up to me and said he'd seen me getting help with the cokes, and would help me load my car. I thanked him with a smile. Turned out he was parked near the front of the store, while I was way out at the other end in an overflow section. He said that was not a problem, that he would walk me to my car and then back to his own. As we walked, I noticed that he had on a shirt with a small Toyota logo, and asked him which dealership he worked for. I told him that's where I bought my Toyota and have it serviced, and he said he thought he'd seen me before. I said I'd thought the same about him. Anyway, when we got to my car, he unloaded everything for me,  I thanked him, we chatted a minute or two more, and then went our separate ways.

There are nice people everywhere. 

There are good people out there! It seems a lot of times you only hear about the bad but good people do exist.

[libby]

The interesting thing is that in this place of people from all over the country and world, there are also a lot of people who moved here from small towns everywhere for the jobs. A lot of them come from WV and rural areas of Virginia. I can be in the local grocery store and hear a voice that I just know is from "back home" -- because of the timbre, a sweet sound to me. I still have it in my voice, I'm told. Some people guess I'm from Texas. My son told me once that when I get "tard" I lapse into hillbilly.