April 23, 2008
A few years ago I had a young five year-old friend called Chris who was going through cancer treatment. I remember visiting him at the hospital. Bless his heart. He just lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling.
To help him feel better I told him about the time I saw a bird poop on a policeman's head in Paris. I said that I thought the bird did it on purpose because the policeman was being mean to some people who were sitting with their feet in a fountain. It was such a hot day and the people were just trying to cool off, but the policeman yelled at them to remove their feet immediately.
A few seconds later, the policeman harrumphed, adjusted his cap and walked away. Just then the bird used the top of the policeman's hat for target practice.
Splat.
You should have seen the policeman's face!
Chris did not respond to my story. He just stared at me with a perplexed look on his face.
Then I got it. He was determined not to laugh and he was holding it in as hard as he possibly could.
Then he pulled the sheets over his head and burst out laughing. He laughed so hard he almost made himself throw up.
“Tell me again,” he said.
I told the story again.
Chris laughed so hard he forgot – for a while- how terribly sick he was feeling.
He asked me to tell him the story again the next day.
I did.
Again he laughed, throwing his bald head back with delight.
It was so heartwarming to see.
Laughter is such a warm and wonderful gift and an amazing powerful medicine.
We should remember to use it more often.
Posted by trevor at April 23, 2008 01:29 PM