Laughter is good medicine
Published:Friday | February 22, 2019 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
When last have you had a good laugh? Or how long has it been since you have listened to some cracking jokes?
It’s been said that ‘laughter is medicine; good medicine, too’. It has also been said that people who laugh more and are merry, live longer than those who do not. Gripping words, indeed!
So, then, here are two stories that may cause you to laugh:
1. The late principal of Carron Hall Primary School (now Carron Hall High) in St Mary, Riddell Hextall – a good and jovial man – came into one of the school’s classrooms one day and said to the students: “Children, children, who is the greatest?”
The students responded: “God is the greatest.”
Mr Hextall repeated the question three times, and the students responded each time, “God is the greatest.”
But the former principal, like a boxer, with fits in demonstration, jokingly said: “Muhammad Ali, man, Muhammad Ali.”
The students and teachers burst out with laughter. And from that day, that joke spread like wildfire.
It was in 1974 that the late Muhammed Ali captured the World Heavyweight boxing title from the dangerous and destructive George Foreman.
2. In a long-time reading-book story, some people were running towards their neighbour’s house – most of them with buckets full of water – calling out, “Ben’s house is on fire!”
One man ran so fast that his boots burst. But when they reached the spot, they were in shock – there was no fire.
It was the sunlight on the roof of the house that made it look like a fire.
Ben, the owner of the house, sat and laughed till his shirt split.
DONALD J. MCKOY