RONNIEISMS

THE BEST MEDICINE
In the past I have written may times about laughter and how it makes a person feel. In my book MAKING HAPPY I wrote about an experience I had while back packing in the Smokey Mountains. I heard this loud, booming voice telling me that I should make people smile everyday of my life and that I would be a 46 short. I'm presently a perfect 44 short but I've accomplished my primary task of daily smiles.

RONNIEISMS actually started because of my often corny quips that became so named. Our  group that meets during the football season and for shows or for just about any event have been getting together every Wednesday night for dinner, for probably 15 years or more. What started with just 2 couples, blossomed into more than twenty people but unfortunately we've lost a few over the years. Originally we tried using our coupon books for restaurants that had two for one offers. We've probably eaten at every restaurant in our immediate neighborhood and many in the greater Kansas City area.

Last night was Chinese and we had 9 in attendance. Besides our conversations concerning the KU loss and the girls mahjong or pan games,  most was small talk. Our friend Lee was fixing her plate when she absentmindedly poured tea into her dish instead of the sweet sauce actually intended. We all became hysterical over her guffaw which led to more and more laughs thru-out the rest of the meal. I saw one of our friends that does not eat chicken devouring a wing and another that does not eat pork, chewing on a rib. "It's not pork" he exclaimed, "it's chinese." That made it OK, I guess.

One of the wonderful things about our group is togetherness. For those of us that have lost a spouse they still have our group. Being alone is not an option for them. We won't allow them to think of being the odd person in the group, except when paying the check.

As we were leaving the restaurant a young lady sitting in the booth behind us called to my wife Norma. She told my wife that it was so nice seeing our group of old people having so much fun and making such a commotion with our laughter. Who is she calling old?

Our kids constantly ask us, "how come you're never home?" I think they believe, because of our age that we should always be home when they call and shouldn't be out running around. I must admit that I spend many hours in my lounge chair glued to the TV, probably more than most people. Could it be that when I see the caller ID, I don't answer?

The one thing we all have in common is FFA. Have a beautiful day.