Most of my life, I have written letters and notes, in my job and to my friends. I enjoyed writing them, except for sympathy notes, which I found to be difficult and unpleasant.

In my teens, my mother always insisted that I attend a deceased person’s wake and write a sympathy note as well. To satisfy her insistence, I usually wrote a short note on a commercial sympathy card, already carrying an appropriate expression. As I grew older, however, when close friends or important people in my life had passed, I wrote a more thoughtful note by hand, relating an anecdote or two about the departed, and how they assisted or amused me in my life. Those handwritten notes achieved a meaningful appreciation for the remaining loved ones. Invariably, I would receive a handwritten note back expressing sincere gratitude for my note, which not only validated the departed’s life, but also helped the survivor move through a difficult time.

Over the years, my once excellent handwriting had deteriorated into an illegible scrawl, which few could read, so I switched from handwriting to typing the note or letter. Though perhaps less personal, at least the mourner could read and reflect on my condolence. Today, many people forgo formal notes entirely, but write emails, texts, tweets and posts instead. The average note writer today, rarely follows Hemingway’s directive: “Writing is rewriting”, but merely types a message, sometimes using both thumbs, and dispatches it off without a second glance or thought. Today’s writing is more about the writer delivering a quick message than the recipient receiving a meaningful condolence. The niceties of our prior culture have become outdated.

Recognizing this culture change, many funeral homes or mortuaries post a website to encourage friends and relatives of the deceased to write a text to the survivors expressing their symphony. Indeed, such practice is more simple and less painful for the writer, but also less personal to the recipient. In bygone days, the mourner usually retained those handwritten notes in a special place for rereading, as on anniversaries, keeping the memory of a loved one alive. In present day, these handwritten notes have given away to cyber notes, with symbols, sentence fragments and misspelled or incomplete words. As long as the meaning is understood, the responsibility is fulfilled. Sadly, we have become too busy to continue an honored custom.

My last post discussed some benefits achieved by a simple smile — a good place to start before advancing to a laugh, which in reality is “a smile that bursts.”
(Mary H. Waldrip,1914–1988)

What comprises a laugh? Both Ho Ho, of Santa Claus fame, and Ha Ha work well, as does Hee Hee, along with bevy of other titters. Consider a few laugh variations extracted from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Chuckle: to laugh in a quiet way;
Giggle: to laugh in a nervous or childlike way;
Titter: to laugh in a quiet and nervous way;
Snicker: to make a short quiet laugh in a way that shows disrespect;
Snigger: to snicker, perhaps a condition between a giggle and a snicker;
Guffaw: a loud or boisterous burst of laughter;
Cackle: to laugh noisily;
Cachinate: to laugh loudly or immoderately.
Chortle: a breathy, gleeful laugh.

Interestingly, chortle, an invented word combining “chuckle” and “snort,” originated in the famous poem Jabberwocky. (Lewis Carroll ,“Through the Looking Glass,” 1871). Warning! Do not chortle while eating or drinking, as little good will come of it. You may have to change your shirt.

While old laugh words satisfy; new laugh words are welcome. As chortle combined chuckle and snort, we may consider merging: guffaw with cackle to birth “guffle” or “cackaw;” or giggle with titter to get “gitter,” “tiggle” or ‘tittle, or with snigger, to get “sniggle.” Laughter by any other name would be just as funny, and bring happy results, like the following:

Mirth: happiness and laughter
Glee: a strong feeling of happiness; great pleasure or satisfaction
Gaiety: a happy and lively quality
Merriment: laughter and enjoyment
Risibility: the ability or inclination to laugh. Just try using risibility in a crowd and see if anyone laughs.

Familiar lines inform: “Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone.” (Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1850–1919). People who laugh attract others; while people who weep, repel them. Simply stated, people prefer to associate themselves with happy folks.

Lastly, an old proverb proclaims: “One who laughs last, laughs best;” but in reality, “the one who laughs last, didn’t get the joke.” (Carroll Bryant, Goodreads)

What better way to start the day than with a simple smile. In addition to making us feel good, it reveals an inner happiness and usually fosters a return smile in the presence of another. Moreover, a happy smile may bring health benefits. According to a psychologist, “the act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits your health and happiness.” One smile will release the “feel good neurotransmitters:” dopamine, endorphins and serotonin, which combine to reduce stress. (Psychcology Today, June 25, 2012.) So as you move through your day, smile as often as you can.

An old proverb tells us that “All people smile in the same language.” Everyone knows people who sport a winsome smile, which makes us feel good, and wish to befriend or assist the smiling person. A tender smile can break down barriers, ease tension, and improve relationships.

Many song lyrics have been inspired by a smile. Consider the pop song “When Irish eyes are smiling,” which includes a telling, but little used verse:

“There’s a tear in your eye,
And I’m wondering why,
For it never should be there at all.
With such pow’r in your smile;”

and the song “Smile,” written by the silent movie comedian Charlie Chaplin and popularized by Nat King Cole, ends with the lines: “You’ll find that life is still worthwhile, if you just smile.”

In addition to helping yourself, a simple smile may go a long way to help others. Mother Teresa (1910—1997), who was canonized recently as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, dedicated her life to caring for the dying, with diseases like HIV/Aids, leprosy, tuberculosis; and for the living, by running soup kitchens. Despite the hardships of her life and work, she was known for her ready smile. She frequently professed: “We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.”

What better way to end this post than with a quote from the comedian, W. C. Fields (1880-1946): “Start every day off with a smile, and get it over with.”

Ding! A piercing sound, commanding immediate attention across a wide span of people: tweens, teens, adults, and oldsters, who obsessively reach for their cell phone to read a text message with varying degrees of intensity and care. No matter where they are, dining in a restaurant, riding in a car, shopping in the mall, or walking down the street. Ding! a launch of instant communication between one or more people, who expect an immediate reply. Often, texters embody the same room, where they can gossip about someone present, within earshot but outside text connection, among the selected clic. And if one does not open the text immediately, the Ding! keeps dinging — Ding! after Ding! until you do. To some, the repeated Ding! is followed by a “damn.”

Ding! A pleasing sound, familiar to my children’s generation. The Ding! usually preceded a musical jingle signaled the arrival of the Mister Softee Ice Cream truck on the street. Children would rush to their parents for a small stipend to purchase a frozen novelty treat as a reward or promise for their good behavior. Often, a parental “damn” followed that Ding! to express displeasure with the alluring pickpocket fleecing the neighborhood. As they grew older, however a Ding! referenced a rejection letter from a failed college application. That Ding! was usually followed by a disappointed “damn,” as well.

Ding! An unmistaken sound In my generation brought about by a careless driver, who opened a door forcefully against your car, resulting in a small dent. Understandably, that Ding! frequently was followed by a “damn,” with strong words not far behind. In addition, a Ding! represent a home run over the fence, which depending on the team, also could be followed by a “damn.”

Ding! A reflective sound in my parents’ generation. Usually, the Ding! was followed by a lower pitched Dong!, as the church bells in the neighborhood rang for the Angelus, a traditional reminder to recite a series of short prayers practiced by churches, convents and monasteries, during the Depression and Word War II. It occurred three times daily at 6:00am (Prime), noon, and 6:00pm (Compline). The Angelus bell comprised three long strokes, Ding! Dong! Ding!, repeated three times, with a pause between each. In addition, a street peddler, who sharpened axes, knives, lawn mower blades, had two bells on his cart, which sounded short Ding! Dong! Ding!, pause, not unlike the Angelus bells. These Dings provided a pleasant back drop for a simpler time when no Ding! was followed by a “damn.”

Ding! My cell phone beckons.

Every state legislature determines official symbols, like the state tree, bird, flower, fruit and vegetable. Where does the tomato stand?

Both Tennessee and Ohio legislated the tomato as its official state fruit. (Tennessee Code, Section 4-1-327; Ohio Revised Code, Section 5.081) Louisiana named the Creole tomato as its official state vegetable plant. (LA Revised Statutes 49:170.11.) New Jersey flirted with designating the tomato as the state vegetable: by the House in 2005 (usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2005-03-08-nj-tomato, denied by the Senate; and by the Senate Bill No 2596 in 2009, which died in committee. To avoid controversy, Arkansas declared the tomato as both its state vegetable and state fruit (Arkansas Code, Section 115). Which states are correct?

Botanically speaking, a fruit is the plant seed-bearing part that develops from its flower; whereas vegetables emanate from all other plant parts, such as roots, leaves and stems. (www.mayoclinic.org/…and…/fruit-vegetable-difference/bgp-20056141.) By that definition, a tomato is a fruit, as well as some other well-known vegetables, like corn, cucumbers, bell peppers, eggplant, green beans, squash, and snap peas, to name a few. What a startling discovery, which may bring a needed change to the traditional dinner table mandate, as: “Eat your fruits!”

Remarkably, this is not a recent issue. In Nix v. Hedden 149 U.S. 304 (1893), the US Supreme Court interpreted the Tariff Act of 1883, which required duties on imported vegetables but not on fruits. Though botanically recognizing the tomato as a fruit, the Court held that Congress intended the “ordinary meaning” of the words fruit and vegetable, noting that consumers identified tomatoes as vegetables. Therefore, under law and common usage, a tomato is a vegetable; but botanically, it is a fruit. Accordingly, to answer the above question, Arkansas is correct.

Rhubarb, on the other hand, is classified botanically as a vegetable, but in modern usage, it is consumed as a fruit, mostly in Rhubarb pies. The rhubarb stalks, remindful of celery, is boiled with sugar as a pie filling. Who knew a rhubarb pie was a vegetable delicacy?

The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) familiar Food Guide Pyramid tries to strike a balance by placing fruits and vegetables on the same plateau, but in uneven proportion, favoring daily servings of 3-5 vegetables to 2-4 fruits, while avoiding the common usage/botany distinction.

Occasionally, while traveling to other lands, I come across a new word which engages my imagination. The word “fenster” captured mine. By definition: as a noun, fenster means “window” (derived from German); as an infinitive, to fenster means “to be thrown from a window.”

A few years ago, we visited the city of Prague, as well as numerous castles in the Czech Republic. A castle is a wonder to observe, but observing many castles becomes tiresome. All qualify as dark, dank and dreary, with few windows. The most important of those were in the towers. Looking out a tower window, or fenster, surveyed much landscape, and served as a look out for marauding armies, but the tower window also accommodated another practical purpose. Captured traitors, foes or other undesirables were dispatched quickly by a practice, familiarly known as “fenstering”; i.e. to be thrown out the window. If high enough, the fall from a castle tower resulted in a predictable result.

Importantly, the fenstering process commenced with appropriate window shopping, and with modernity the practice expanded beyond its humble origin. Any high structure would suffice. Frequently, authorities “fenstered” undesirables by tossing them off a bridge, perhaps with hands and legs bound — to reduce splashing, of course. One famous fensteree, St John Nepomuk, a Catholic priest, had been fenstered off the Charles Bridge into the Vltava river (Moldova, under Soviet rule) by order of King Wenceslaus IV — certainly not the “Good King Wenceslaus” of Christmas carol fame. Nepomuk’s indiscretion: he was the confessor of the Queen of Bohemia and refused to break the “seal of confession.” King Wenceslaus IV insisted on knowing his wife’s sins, and St John Nepomuk declined to snitch. He earned sainthood, as a fenstered martyr. The Charles Bridge today sports a plaque identifying the exact spot of the dastardly fenster of March 20,1393. In modern 1393, kings no longer had to say “off with his head;” as “fenster the bloke” worked fine.

A fenster factoid: St John Nepomuk became the first martyr to uphold the Seal of Confession, and remains the patron saint against calumny (false statements) and a protector from floods and drowning.