The name that the Secret Service called Richard Nixon was different from the name that they called him among themselves, Pencil Dick. I was thinking about this cryptic name when I entered my building. Stationed at the entranceway there is a security guard named Tommy. He is six feet four and probably weighs two hundred and sixty pounds. He knows me and asked for some information about taking classes at night. Upon finishing the conversation I continued to enter the building and said, “All right Tiny.” Near by a neighbor was also entering the building. She was newly arrived from Germany and said to me, with a puzzled expression on her face, “Vos is loose mit dear Tiny?” Another guard was near by and guffawed. I explained it was a joke, but she did not understand.

Over time Tommy adopted Tiny as a nickname. A few weeks later a woman was having a problem getting out of her apartment because the door was stuck. She called downstairs to the guards post and asked for help. Tiny answered, “Tiny speaking, can I help you?” The women said, “Can you please come up and help me open my door?” Five minutes later there was a big commotion. The woman had called the guard office and the police. She told them that there was an intruder in the building, impersonating a guard, and knocking on her door. When the police arrived they helped the women open her door and detained Tiny even though he was in uniform. The police asked the women why she called. She answered, “I called the guard downstairs and he said his name was Tiny. Then this man showed up.” The officers were all smiling as they took the elevator down.

Zen, laughing, and humor, are essential ingredients of life. Perhaps laughing was invented to encourage social interaction. We laugh more when we are with others. We want to be with people who are happy and make us laugh. When was the last time you had an evening of laughter with others? Shutdown the computer, TV, and IPhone for a while and make the effort to find some new social contacts and reaffirm older ones. Laughter is good for the heart, relieves stress, and reaffirms our humanity. Satoru

Honor
I have a friend of many years. When we get together we talk about, relationships, both with others and ours, Zen, and life. My friend is very smart but does not take full responsibility for his actions or inactions. Instead he uses his intellect to create excellent rationales for excuses. One evening I brought this to his attention, having confidence in the Zen adage: Love he who tells you your faults in private. Defensively he answered, “I don’t think that’s true, sometimes things just happen.”
“But that is just another justification, like saying it’s fate or serendipity.”
“No, junk happens that’s out of your control. Like your computer loses information or you get hit by a car or lose a companion.”
“But isn’t that your fault because you didn’t back up on a separate drive or have more awareness of what’s around you, or have sensitivity or make a positive effort?”
“Hey, shit happens.”
“That’s just a rationalization for not taking accountability. If you acted, then it produced a reaction. Unless it is, or was, completely out of your control, you are responsible. I think that even if I gave you the secret of life you would find a way to avoid culpability or act.” I teased.
“All right, tell me the secret of life.” He said, as he looked up and rolled his eyes.
“The secret of life, and many other exceptional ideas about relationships are in my new book, AWayToLoveLaugh.Com. All you have to do is just click my site and buy it on Amazon.”
“I think with all the help I have given you, with editing you’re writing, you should just give me the book for free.”
Satoru