Living in the country we have come to expect seeing different species of animals. Deer occasionally grace our presence. Of course, once we are seen by them they quickly disappear. One day as I was looking out a back window there were 7 or so wild turkey. After flying away, they have not returned. Many different birds come to our three feeders. Sunflower seed is spread on the ground for the doves and squirrels. Cardinals and smaller birds also search for food on the ground but the smaller ones mostly enjoy the feeders with their perches. We started throwing it on the ground to keep squirrels from eating the plastic off our original bird feeders. Now we have “squirrel proof” feeders that do a good job of keeping them from the food contained within.

Living in the country there is plenty of land for all God’s creatures. A wooded area begins within thirty feet of the rear of our house providing food and protection for wildlife living there.

What we didn’t expect happened early one morning in the summer. With me being a sound sleeper, I could not imagine what my wife was saying at 2 in the morning. My glasses with thick lenses were on a table beside the bed, where I had left them before I laid down to sleep. A ceiling fan was on chasing the heat away. Barely awake I could see something attached to the fan, circling with the fan blades. Once, the object made oblong path around the fan. Soon, by wife had turned on the light, my glasses were on and we saw a bird following the path of the fan blades. I quickly closed the bedroom door to keep the critter from the rest of the house.

With the light on we realized it was a bat! Why didn’t our cats alert us? The first task was to get rid of the bat. It was indeed following the path of the fan blades. Taking the screen off the windows we tried, lamely I might add, to divert its course with pillows and out the window. This was not working. I had folded the curtains over the top. Once, when the bat landed on the top of the curtains, he “walked” up the inside of the folds of the curtain. A fascinating site this would have been under different circumstances.

Obviously, this method was not working. A towel might work. My wife opened the door with the bat still following the flight of the fan blades. Returning with old towels, my wife and I started making attempts to again divert the bat outside the window, his freedom and ours. I didn’t realize how high our ceiling was, although they are only 8 feet or so. The bat was evading our feeble attempts. I jumped, with the length of the towel spread out, and missed. Another attempt, nothing! Finally, my wife said, “you caught him.” Now what do I do? Do I take him, still wrapped up, to the outside? Do I open the towel and hope he flies away? I opted for throwing the towel out the window and hoping he flew away.

With the windows now closed we opened the bedroom door to our two cats’ right there wondering why we had locked them out! Lying back down, it was difficult to return to slumber land.

The next morning I went outside to retrieve the towel, wondering what I would do if the bat was still wrapped inside. Fortunately, he was gone. We are still wondering how he came into the house and chose our bedroom.

Some riddles are a form of indirect-thinking question. To answer them, you have to move laterally in your mind, away from the expected guesses. This is especially true of funny riddles. What did the others do when the cannibal was late for dinner? They gave him the cold shoulder, of course.

Then there are the riddles that aren’t really jokes, but they make you laugh when you hear the answer. If an airplane crashes on the border of the U.S. and Canada, in which country do they bury the survivors? They don’t bury survivors, of course. Laughter is good for the brain. Okay, I am waiting for the research on that, but it will be proven someday.

Oh, and no political jokes here. By the way, do you know what’s wrong with political jokes? They get elected! Okay, maybe just that one. Here are a few more riddles that will make you smile.

Q: What did the instructor at the school for Kamikaze pilots tell his students? A: Watch this closely. I’m only going to do this once.

Q: Imagine you are in a sinking boat and surrounded by sharks. How do you survive? A: Just quit imagining!

Q: How many times can you subtract 5 from 25? A: Just once, because after you subtract anything from it, it’s not 25 anymore.

Q: Is it legal for a man to marry his widow’s sister in the state of California? A: Probably not, since he’s dead.

Q: Is it legal for a man to marry his widow’s sister in the state of California? A: Probably not, since he’s dead.

Q: Imagine you are in a sinking boat and surrounded by sharks. How do you survive? A: Just quit imagining!

Q: What two things can never be eaten for breakfast? A: Lunch and Dinner.

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First off, I want to say that I am thankful that my grandfather is still with us.  He is just about 83 and still kicking strong.  I can remember playing with him as a child - we had a lot of fun.

The only real problem with him all along is that I call him my Grump-father - because he has always really grumpy.  If you were lucky, you might catch him on an off day and he might actually be pleasant.  But watch out if you caught him on a regular day - he could get really nasty.

Seems as long as I can remember, I have tried to cheer him up.  Whether it was telling him some funny jokes, acting kind of silly, or even making a funny face, it has always been my quest to make him smile.  From time to time I have succeeded, but most of the time I have failed.  That is until last Sunday…

I had Grandpa over for coffee and we were talking about life and sports.  My wife and his grandchildren were out shopping - so we were alone.  Just the night earlier, I had found some funny videos online and was planning to show them to him - hoping he would crack a smile.  I showed him the first one with no luck.  But the second one which involved a crazed cat and a bird made him roll in laughter.  I don’t know if I have ever seen him laugh so hard in my entire life.

Even as he left, he was still laughing.  Mission accomplished

Sometimes I can find life stressful and sometimes downright depressing.  I find sometimes that my day is not going too well, but then someone makes me laugh and everything is better.

If you are looking for something to cheer you up if your day isn’t going so well, try telling some jokes.  Not only will the reaction of the person you tell the joke to affect your disposition, but their day will be a little better too.

Just remember you do not want to sound like a broken record and repeat your same repertoire of jokes over and over.  That is why you need to find a good resource that will keep you telling new jokes each and every day.  I did find a good site with a ton of jokes.

There are plenty of ways to deliver your joke to your audience: you can tell the joke verbally, send it by email, or even send a funny video to them as well.  Just be sure to tailor your jokes to your audience: it may not be popular to tell your grandma some yo mama jokes or tell your pastor some religious jokes.  Watch out for sending jokes to your co-workers: if you send them an inappropriate joke it may come back to haunt you.

Just remember:

A joke a day keeps the stress away.