... and by the“soul-tickling” session

♥ Start by telling funny anecdotes that happened to you. Like the one told by Isabel, a Brazilian who was one of our guardian angels in Bia’s recovery room at the hospital.
Recently arrived in Little Rock, she knew very little English and, at the time, she lived with her sister’s family. One day a man knocked on the door to caution her sister and her children to be careful, because there was a snake in the surroundings. He would kill it, for twenty dollars. The following day, he came back and said that the snake had approximately four feet. Then, Isabel, who didn’t really trust the man, said to her sister in Portuguese: You see, this guy is trying to rip you off. Who has ever heard of a snake with feet, let alone four! General laughter.

☺Tell jokes. Laughter tickles the heart, my kids used to say. And I add: laughter tickles the soul, rejuvenates, and produces fewer wrinkles on the face and in the heart.
Ask the Loved One to tell his or her best annecdotes.

A good idea is to dramatize Reader’s Digest’s sessions like Humor in Uniform; Laughter, the Best Medicine; and Life in These United States.

And a good one, to finish:
A woman sees an old man on the porch of his house, in a wheelchair, and she approaches him:
- I couldn’t help noticing how happy you look. What is your secret for a long and happy life?
- I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day – he said. I also drink several bottles of Scotch a week and I only eat fast food and never exercise!
- Incredible! How old are you?
- Twenty six.