The Laughter Factor - A Message From the Street

The day was miserably hot, 104 degrees in the shade with an unbearable 90% humidity. My car strained to keep the air-conditioner going in the stop-and-go traffic that was 98% stop. It was the kind of day when road rage begins to seem rational.

Trapped at a busy intersection in Dallas, I hoped the too-quick light that allowed only a single car to squeeze into the main artery every time it changed to green would miraculously allow six or seven cars to go. No such luck! I sat and watched the engine temperature gauge rise. My tension rose as well. Could I get onto the freeway before the engine exploded?

On the corner, as on so many corners in Dallas, a homeless man held up a sign. Scrawled with a marker on a flattened cardboard box were the words,

"Will Work for . . ."

I checked the door locks and windows and tried to avoid eye contact. But the man began to do a curious jig, pointing to his sign and bouncing around his turf in the median.

I could not resist. I looked up.

As soon as he saw me watching, the man flipped his sign over where I read,

"Beer. I need a cold one."

We both exploded in laughter. If I had had a cold one, he would have had it on the spot.

Immediately, my mood changed. The wait was not the torment it had seemed, the heat not as threatening. The world instantly shifted from grim to friendly.

With no other words, this man taught me a great lesson, one I try to remember.

You don't need money to share laughter.

Keywords: