No. 1171 -- YOU EVER BEEN IN CAHOOTS?

No. 1171

Jim Davidson...NEWSPAPER COLUMN

YOU EVER BEEN IN CAHOOTS?

While I don’t know about you and yours, at our home we laugh a lot and just have fun doing things together as a husband-and-wife team. There is always something exciting happening, and we have events come along quite often that help to keep our sanity and our perspective. This makes life truly worth living. We are truly blessed.
From my perspective, we all need to laugh and have more fun and humor in our lives, because as the Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle once said, “Humor is the essence of love; it issues not in laughter but in still smiles, which lie far deeper.” One thing is for sure -- it is impossible to be mad at someone when we are laughing. It has been said that if you meet someone who does not have a smile, give him one of yours, as no one needs a smile so much as the one who has none left to give.
These thoughts came to me when I began to think about what I wanted to share with you in this column. Recently, a friend who knows I am always looking for new ideas and good material handed me a brief article titled, “The Story of My Life,” and it was very humorous and thought provoking. See if you agree.
It begins, “I have been in many places, but I have never been in Cahoots. Apparently you can’t go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone. I’ve also never been Incognito. I hear no one recognizes you there. I have, however, been in Sane. They don’t have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my children, friends, family and work. I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I’m not too much on physical activity anymore.
“I have also been in Doubt. This is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often. I have been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm. Sometimes I’m in Capable, and I go there more often as I am getting older. One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenaline flowing and pumps the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get! I may have been in Continent, but I don’t remember what country I was in. It’s an age thing. They tell me it’s very wet and damp there.”
This last part of the story reminds me of a joke they used to tell on Sen. Bob Dole and President Bill Clinton. The story goes that President Clinton always wore boxer shorts instead of briefs. When they asked Bob Dole if he wore boxer shorts or briefs he said, “Depends.” If that is true, and I am not sure if it is, Bob has no doubt spent some time in Continent.
Well, my friend, if you have not cracked a smile or two by now, we need to have a talk. Life is just too short to not see the humor in things. I know there are times in my life when I am under stress that I don’t take time to stop and smell the roses.
As human beings, I think we all need to get away from time to time from the pressures of everyday life, and we should never go too long without taking a break or stopping to count our blessings. If we can afford it, even a short vacation can do wonders to help us gain perspective and recharge our batteries. Janis says she likes to go to the beach, and I will take her or go with her, but I love the mountains and especially the beautiful country and the fall foliage up in New England. She has never been there, and maybe we can go before too long. Something else we like to do is go to Branson, Mo. There are lots of good, wholesome shows and music there, and hopefully we can see our friend Shoji Tabuchi. I had sure rather be there than in Cahoots with anyone.
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(Editor’s Note: THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY – Begin your day on a positive note – 365 days for $12. This will benefit the Bookcase for Every Child project. Go to www.apositivemomentwithjim.com to subscribe.)