J. Davy Crockett III

A hearty laugh is good for us.  Something truly funny, that tickles our "funny bone" and causes us to laugh out loud, has a calming, stress-relieving effect on us as human beings.  Scientific studies have shown the benefit of hilarity and good humor on our health and well-being.  And yet, much of what passes for humor today has a bite to it or the laugh is at the expense of someone else. You might say, "Laughter, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, so what difference does it make?"

You'll never meet an "average" person. Oh sure, someone might be referred to as "average", but no one ever sees himself as average. Every person is unique.  Certainly, there are some commonalities, but each human being is made up of the genetic hand he or she has been dealt, along with life's experiences, environment, culture, religion. etc. Some individuals excel in life and stand out, others live their lives in "quiet desperation" as spoken of by the poet Thoreau.

Recently, the digital world of cyber space was rocked by the latest offering from Apple, as Steven Jobs, the legendary founder of this iconic company, unveiled the new tablet computer called the iPad.

Have you noticed that some words fairly drip with intensity and descriptiveness? Even the very sounds of these words help convey their meaning. You know the kind I mean. Words like snap, boom, sizzle, or fizzle, words like expunge, lunge, whack, and whirl. Interesting, you might say, but not very significant. Yet, words do have an impact.

As a news hound, that is, one who follows what is happening on the world scene, I am often struck by the lack of civility in political discourse, news reporting and in daily interaction between people in all walks of life. There is a strident tone, a hard edge in many—if not most—exchanges that involve differences of opinion. Whether it is on the floor of Congress, in the chambers of Parliament, in countries large and small, contention seems to be the spirit of the times.