I just had a friend of mine tell me he was shocked that he had actually been called a mother f'er twice this week by total strangers.  Once for being neighborly by smiling at a guy as he walked by.  The other time for trying to fairly negotiate the price of a Craig's list sale item.  If you knew my friend (and many of you reading this do), you would know that he is a non-confrontational, kind, generous and helpful person and certainly not in the category of the above mentioned slander.  In fact, he somewhat jokingly expressed his apologies to the universe for whatever wrong he may have committed to have brought on these two occurrences of being called such a name.

However, my reasoning behind why these two incidences happened is quite different.  I don't feel any crime has been committed on his part to have brought this on.  I call it, quite sarcastically, the "good 'ol holiday spirit".  You know, it's that overwhelming, stressed out feeling people get during this time of year.  It's the feeling that makes people feel deprived, victimized and frantic among other "wonderful" feelings.  I attribute the out-of-context response of the passer-by to pent up anger, unfortunately taken out on my friend, who just happened to be there at the time the guy couldn't hold it in anymore.  I attribute the Craig's list sale gone wrong to something like a desperate person in need of money and having little or, in this case, no patience for making deals.  Remember, not only is the economy bad, but there are Christmas gifts to buy with whatever can be scraped up from the carnage of the past financial year!

But wait!  It really doesn't have to be this way.  Not at all.

In contrast to my friend's experience, in this same week, I experienced the opposite of the "good 'ol holiday spirit".  Instead, I was blessed to have come in contact with the beautiful human spirit.  A spirit more bright than any sparkling and expensive material item of the season.

I had arrived at the post office with just one package to mail and it turned out I was second in line, but both registers were taken and the customers at each register were experiencing circumstances that required more than the average time to mail a package.  In fact, it truly was taking a very long time.  So much so that the line forming behind me now reached the entrance door.  Looking at the faces around me, no one was smiling.  People were either engaged in solving problems, waiting as patiently as possible or text messaging.  The tension in the room grew as it usually does when people expect to be in and out of the post office, but quickly realize they are either going to have to wait or come back another time.

Just as the air seemed to thicken with impatience, an elderly man standing next to me says out loud, "Well, since we've got the time...What did the one snowman say to the other snowman?"  I smiled and for a split second, I admit, I thought to myself, "Should I respond?"  In a brief moment I asked myself, "What if he's a kook?", "What if he's about to say something inappropriate?"  Interesting how we sometimes unknowingly are conditioned to be so cautious in our society.  "Nah", I told myself and I responded to the man's joke with the traditional, "I don't know."  He then proceeded with the punchline, "Do you smell carrots?"  Not realizing that everyone in the room was listening, I heard chuckles and looked up to see others smiling.  Then the old man continued with three other jokes; each one draining away the tension in the room.  It was nice.

I knew in that moment that what this man had given us was a precious gift.  With a few jokes, he reminded me to slow down and not be so serious.  He reminded me how powerful the human spirit is and how generous we can be with our kindness.  He reminded me that we are on this journey called life together and that it takes very little to make a difference and touch the hearts of others.

The old man continued to tell me that he keeps jokes on his car dashboard and memorizes six jokes a day to help with his memory.  Once the line moved, I walked up to the register and mailed my package.  As I opened the door to leave, I turned to the old man who was standing at the front of the line now and gave him a big smile.  As soon as I got to my car, I felt an overwhelming need to "pass the kindness on".  I called my husband and sons and shared my experience with them and told them the jokes.  Since then I've even told others.

So now I'm telling you the story. Pass it on and maybe we can keep the old man's spirit of kindness going for a while and maybe even through the holiday season.  Maybe you and I can create more moments of kindness.  The smallest action can affect others in such a powerful and meaningful way.

So here are the other jokes.  I was even able to find one of them in its entirety off the internet since I couldn't remember all the details.  Maybe I need to keep a few jokes on MY dashboard too...to help with my memory ;-)

Joke #2:  What has four legs and an arm?...A Rottweiler

Joke # 3:  A guy is driving around Arkansas, and he sees a sign in front of a house: "Talking Dog For Sale." He rings the bell and the owner tells him the dog is in the backyard. The guy goes into the backyard and sees a Labrador retriever sitting there.

"You talk?" he asks.

"Yep," the Lab replies.

"So, what's your story?"

The Lab looks up and says, "Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA about my gift, and in no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running."

"But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security wandering near suspicious characters and listening in."

"I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals.  I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired."

The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.

"Ten dollars," the guy says.

"Ten dollars? This dog is amazing. Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?"

"Because he's a liar. He never did any of that stuff."

Joke #4:  The last joke he told, I couldn't find on the internet or remember, but it had something to do with a captain on a ship announcing to his crew that he was issuing a GALE WARNING.  "Anyone who had been out last night with Gail..." LOL!