Day 137 Smiles

 

5/17/2025

"A merry heart does good like a medicine...."

Proverbs 17:22

Nicknames are common in the South, and they are generally reflective of a person's personality or a physical characteristic or the use of initials in place of full names. I've had a few given to me over my lifetime. My earliest recollection is being called Linnie Sue by my grandfather as a shortened version of Linda Susan. I've never allowed anyone else to call me Linnie Sue, because my papa was very dear to me, and it was all his, just between the two of us. Of course my grandmother called me Linda Susan once, but that was not a good thing as I was caught doing something wrong. Full names when spoken in like manner can bear consequences.

When I was an adolescent, my parents loved to take us to Alexandria to visit our great aunts, my grandmother's sisters. I loved visiting my cousins, and sometimes we'd go to the community swimming pool. I was only twelve, and always self-conscious of wearing a bathing suit. Girls were more modestly dressed in those days. The lifeguard was still in high school, and he had a raccoon tail on the antenna of his car. He was very friendly towards me, and he started calling me Smiley, because I smiled all the time. Later on in my 20's the Smiley turned to Sunshine, again because I was always smiling and happy. That nickname hung on the longest, and I hope it still reflects my personality. I tend to be a happy person, content with my life, but joyful because Jesus is the best part of who I am.

Today I decided to watch fun movies, silly really, but I'm a great fan of Johnny Depp. So today, off and on, I watched Pirates of the Caribbean, all five, but not at one sitting. In fact, I started on Friday mid-day, and then picked it back up in the evening today. I had never seen the fifth installment, so now I'm left hanging for the release of the sixth one. Who knows when that may be or if it will be. Regardless, I enjoyed the sheer nonsense of watching Captain Jack Sparrow in his charades, escaping the gallows, and always getting out of fixes in the most bizarre manner. A favorite line in most of the episodes is "Do you think he plans these things or makes it up as he goes along?" Whatever he does, he manages to outsmart even himself at times, and that in itself is laughable.

Laughter really is good medicine as the Proverbs says, and it has always served me well. I see so many people who are malcontent about one thing or another, and I can see the wrinkles forming just from the pouting mouths. I think I much prefer laugh lines, as they tend to pull the features upwards, rather than sagging downward. My son loves to tell me that I'm looking more like my papa each day, meaning I have a "turkey goozle" neck. He's so flattering, and it really helps my self image. I had a friend many years ago who used to do facial exercises daily in order to avoid the turkey effect or any other drooping as she aged. I tried it, but it made me laugh, so I stuck with occasional mud masques, but I don't think they helped much either. I guess I'll have to reconsider the facial exercises. At least laughter pulls my mouth upward, so perhaps a few rounds of laughter will be more effective if I avoid looking in the mirror while pursing my lips and jutting my chin out. There's not much satisfaction in watching that done.

Oh, well, that's about all the wisdom I have to share in this sitting, and the time is catching up with me again as the hour is late, and it will soon be time to rest up for another fun day. I'll try to keep it light whatever I decide to do after attending church. I need to hunt down my cat, Alex, and try to get the berries out of his fur. He loves to sleep under the bushes and roll in the leaves. His winter coat still needs to be thinned, so it should be interesting trying to get him to sit still long enough for me to clean him up. He's quite the adventurer, so he's always lounging in someone's bushes when he's not looking for his next meal in the field. How I love that cat!!