The Meaning of Laughter

A woman in Florida was fired for laughing too loud.

Check out the story: http://www.local6.com/news/16594550/detail.html

People, honestly, life is too short to stop other people from laughing.

I myself have what I have been told is a "trademark" laugh.

Truth be told, it gets on a lot of people's nerves. I know this. I have been told it's a "cackle."
But quite honestly, I don't care. And as I get older, I REALLY don't care.

It's not that I want to be rude. I don't. It's just MY LAUGH. It's loud and proud, just like me.
As a matter of fact, people have found me just on my laugh alone.
True story. Dante and I were in Lowe's Garden Center one day, and one of our friends found us in the store because she heard my laugh.

She said, "We knew that had to be Angie."

Now, that's useful.

For example, if I fell down a hill in a rain forest, I could laugh from the bottom and many, many people would hear me and therefore, find me.

I've spread my laugh far and wide. At each of my jobs that I've left, people have always told me, "We're going to miss Angie's laugh."

A former co-worker at Plastics News tape-recorded my laugh when I left my job there. That's flattering, or odd, depending on one's perspective. But I'm an optimist. I always see the glass as half full. I like to think that people get a kick out of hearing my laugh, more than annoyance.

Truth be told, though, my laugh tends to get on the nerves of Okies. I will not go into detail on this one. Let's just say that we've had our "incidents."

Part of me thinks that most people don't laugh often enough, and these are the grumps who fire others for laughing and/or make rude comments about the laugh of others.

To the sourpusses: I'm sorry that you haven't been able to cultivate a wonderful glowing garden within yourself. That's sad. May I suggest laughter as a fertilizer?

And hence, the quote by which I live my life, "TO LAUGH OFTEN AND MUCH; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition. To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

So, go forward and LAUGH. Laugh loud and proud and don't diminish your spirit because of some sourpuss.