A healthy dose of medicine for the soul (standard:Inspirational stories, 905 words)
Author: Godspenman	Added: Mar 27 2011	Views/Reads: 2769/2	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A large segment of the human population takes things way too seriously for their own good. The strange anomaly is that most people laugh at the wrong thing and fail to laugh at the right thing. This serious incongruity has robbed people of a healthy attit

A large segment of the human population takes things way too seriously
for their own good. The strange anomaly is that most people laugh at 
the wrong thing and fail to laugh at the right thing. This serious 
incongruity has robbed people of a healthy attitude towards life in 
general. 

Those who take life too seriously are in danger of missing the great
joys of living in a crazy world like ours. I am not sure about the 
scientific research but I would guess that for every sad moment it 
takes one hundred laughs to balance the books. Some people are about 
ninety-nine laughs short of a real sane moment. 

I like the old English proverb that says, "Laugh and the whole world
laughs with you, cry and you cry alone." 

From my perspective, if you cannot laugh with someone you will not be
able to cry with him or her and have it mean anything. 

According to some medical advice, it takes more facial muscles and
energy to frown than it does to smile. Of course, the only exercise 
some people have is frowning and who am I to take that away from them. 

I am determined, no matter what, to exercise my right to smile and laugh
and enjoy the world around me. I must confess that I get this attitude 
quite honestly. 

My paternal grandfather was a Past Master in the area of practical
jokes. No amount of time was too much to spend preparing for one of his 
famous practical jokes. His favorite holiday was April 1 and began 
preparing for this holiday right after Christmas. 

The fact that his practical jokes at times got him into trouble did not
seem to affect him at all. 

Once while in the hospital for an extended period he had somebody
smuggle in to him a can of snuff. For some reason he liked chewing 
snuff. It is the most disgusting habit I know of on earth. 

He no sooner received his smuggled goods then he began chewing it. If
you know anything about chewing snuff, you know it is accompanied by a 
lot of spitting. As usual, his timing was impeccable. Just as the head 
nurse passed his door and looked in, he leaned over and spit in to the 
garbage can he had next to his bed. The nurse, not knowing about the 
chewing snuff, thought he was spitting blood and immediately went into 
emergency mode. Immediately my grandfather was rushed into the 
operating room and the surgeon and medical team were assembled. 

My grandfather was very sick at the time. Some did not think he would
get out of the hospital. 

Just as they got him situated in the operating room he pulled from under
his sheet his can of chewing snuff and smiled at them. The only person 
in the room that thought this was in any way amusing was my 
grandfather. The doctors were so angry with him but they refuse to see 
him for three days and confiscated his can of chewing snuff. 

My aunt and uncle lived right next to my grandfather. My aunt was hyper
clean when it came to her house. Dirt in any form was not welcome under 
her roof. She had a broom that was always within reach because she 
never knew when a piece of dirt would try to invade her domicile. 

That year my grandfather found something new. I am not sure where he
found it but he probably spent a lot of time looking for something like 
this. It was a rubber facsimile of a very nasty looking piece of vomit. 
To him it was a prized possession. 

Most of his practical jokes were executed on April 1. Whenever we saw
grandfather coming on this particular day we usually ran for cover. 

He went over to visit my aunt and was sitting on the couch in the living
room. They chatted for a little while and then my grandfather began to 
cough a little bit. He said to my aunt, "I haven't been feeling good 
lately. I really don't know what it is." Then he started to cough a 
little more seriously, to which, my aunt got up and went to the kitchen 
to get him a glass of water thinking that might help him. 

When she got back, she was shocked to see on her new coffee table a very
horrible sight. My grandfather was bent over the coffee table hacking 
and coughing as though he was in the process of dying. On the coffee 
table was very nasty looking piece of vomit. 

My aunt went into hysterics. She whirled around and within a moment had
grabbed her broom and started towards my grandfather. My grandfather 
was laughing but not for long. 

Suddenly he realized that the flailing broom in my aunt's hand was aimed
at him. She chased him out of the house, down the driveway and for at 
least three blocks yelling obscenities at him that I dare not repeat in 
public society. 

Laughter is the fresh air of the soul. Even the Bible thinks so. 

"A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart
the spirit is broken" (Proverbs 15:13 KJV). And, my favorite, "A merry 
heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones" 
(Proverbs 17:22 KJV). 

I recommend a healthy dose of medicine for your soul. 


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