Laughter the Best Medicine

I love to laugh. I love people who make me laugh. It is an art to be sure. Some of the best writing can make you laugh and cry at the same time. I love writing that makes me feel something and invites me to do something. Maybe it invites me to change, but at the same time it lightens my load a little by making me laugh. Maybe it helps me learn to laugh at my self.

I’d like to put more humor in my writing, but I haven’t figured it out yet. Learning to laugh at life is one thing, but writing about it is another. I critique with some very witty ladies. They make me smile. They make me laugh. I don’t know how they do it.

Someday I’m going to write something hysterical and tickle your funny bone, but for now, I’m just happy to have friends that make me laugh.

In spite of the fact that I can’t write funny, I do have a funny story to tell.

My son, Devin got a very scary phone call last Wednesday. Devin is not known for being a good driver. He loves speed. He has never worried about speeding tickets. He enjoys speeding so much that he doesn’t mind paying the fines. Because his tickets were often in different counties or even states, they never really caught up with his driving record, until recently. In December he got one too many speeding tickets and in February he was notified that he had too many points. His license was revoked and he humbly showed up for traffic school to take some points off his record. Without traffic school, his license would be suspended for 3 months and he would be reduced to walking and bumming rides.

We cheered a little at his discomfort, because we had tried everything to get him to slow down. He couldn’t believe what was happening to him. He said, “Why didn’t you tell me they could take my license away? I’d have stopped speeding if I’d known that.” Why didn’t we tell him?

Everything worked out. He got his license reinstated and became very motivated to avoid speeding tickets. Even with traffic school he couldn’t afford any more points for two years. Even a minor ticket would put him over the point limit, with a mandatory suspension of at least 3 months. They only allow you a one time chance at traffic school, so he knew if he got another ticket he was wannabee driver.

Back to the scary phone call. Last Wednesday a woman from the Highway Patrol called and told Devin that he had been clocked at 5 miles over the speed limit several times on I-15 by their aerial tracking equipment. She named the day and indeed Devin had traveled from Idaho to Utah on that very day. The citations for those speeding violations were in the mail and Devin had 24 hours to surrender his license or a warrant would be issued for his arrest. Devin was stunned. He had questions. The woman had no answers, but she gave him a number to call.

Aerial tracking equipment? Five miles over the speed limit? Warrant for my arrest? Devin tried to make sense of this information and finally called the number he had been given. To his relief, the voice on the other end was friendly, even familiar.

“April Fool!” said a familiar voice. That familiar voice was the voice of his girlfriend.

Love that Girl!

Linda Garner

You're It!

Seven Things You Don’t Know About Me

I told Scarlett that I would only play tag with her if I could think of 7 hysterical things to share. I would really love to tickle your phunny bone, but alas, this is the best I could come up with.

1. I am technologically challenged. I don’t know how to text message, or how to run my satellite TV. I am also directionally challenged. I can get lost almost anywhere, even inside of buildings. I often have trouble finding my car in parking lots. Oh, and by the way, I am a recovering junk-aholic.

2. When I was a little girl I was afraid of cows and sometimes had scary dreams about cows. In my dreams cows could fly and they were very dangerous.

3. I am not afraid of spiders, snakes, or cockroaches, but I am terrified of mice. Mice in cartoons and storybooks are always cute and cuddly, but in real life they are disgusting. I don’t even like plastic mice. They give me the creeps.

4. I went practically my whole life without getting a traffic ticket of any kind. I was almost 50 when I got my first and only speeding ticket.

5. I have 24 year old twin sons and 24 year old twin grandsons. Yes, you read that right. My daughter has twin sons that are 24 and I have twin sons that are 24. If that has you scratching your head, I will end your torture. My daughter and son in law adopted these boys when they were 19. The boys came into their home as foster children at the age of 16. Things worked out well and they were adopted at 19. My daughter is 33. She is just 9 years older than the boys. My son-in-law, however is 42.

6. I had a caesarean section and a vaginal delivery on the same day.

7. Most of my pregnancies lasted 10 months. Why? We’re not sure, but we think that quality babies take longer.

Have a great day, and now it's your turn to share with us. Tag! You're It.

Linda Garner