I heard a great quote this morning on the radio: "Joy is the serious business of heaven." Evangelist Luis Palau was quoting C.S. Lewis, adding that God wants us to enjoy life on earth. I don't think there's a more beautiful sound than laughter, especially a child's laughter. So I would agree with Lewis & Palau that we should not get so bogged down with life's obligations that we forget to take time out for fun.
(Which reminds me, when I was in Edinburgh in March, I met a Scottish artist named Max who said he specialized in portraits of a "laughing Jesus." I loved the concept. Unfortunately, when I looked up laughingjesus.com it is kind of a pseudo-site that triggers pop-up ads and sales pitches (don't go there!). I must have had the wrong URL. But the idea of a Laughing Jesus is a reassuring one, isn't it?
* * *
My talk to the Toledo Rotary Club went very well yesterday, as good or better than I had hoped. It was packed -- the biggest crowd they've had since the club moved to its new location at the Park Inn. And the front tables were filled with a dozen local judges from various courts. The club had a very efficient and knowledgeable staffer who set up my PowerPoint presentation and gave me a remote control clicker to advance the slides.
Tom Walton was his usual charming and entertaining self in introducing me. The hardest part was watching my time limit -- 20 minutes. So I had to avoid getting bogged down in details as I showed the slides and skimmed over the complex topic.
During a Q&A, one guy asked me what happened that the cold-case squad got involved in the case. I was not intending to be funny when I answered that it was a long and convoluted story and I didn't have time to explain, but added, "The best thing to do is read the book."
That got the biggest laugh of the day.
I sold one copy of the book even though I didn't bring any with me: One Rotarian gave me the cash for a copy and asked me to sign it and mail it to him. I should have made arrangements with Borders to set up a table.
Toledo, Ohio May 8, 2007.