LAFOLOT

Finally settling into my new modular home after letting go of my condo and putting it on the market –
this has been a day full of surprises!

I tend to have premonitions. I thought this morning, ‘I need to move some of my LAFOLOT Live Life! Laugh Often!’ inventory’. As I was getting ready to leave my favorite Thai restaurant, Thai Palace – the owner/chef peeked out of the kitchen: ‘Do you have any more of those T-Shirts he asked?’ His cute daughter, Elizabeth was there also. YES! I said! Then, I realized he was talking about the new, ‘ME!’ t-shirt I had created and was wearing.

What size? I asked. XL – Yes – I had one in my stash in the car! So I sold him a ME! (LAFOLOT) t-shirt as well as an “I Love to LAFOLOT and GIGGLE, too!” shirt for his daughter, in exchange for a free lunch, tomorrow! I love bartering t-shirts for Thai food!

Then, I headed up the road to complete a few more errands. On the way home, I stopped at a Burger King drive-thru for a soda. My throat was feeling crappy from the hot/humid/allergin-ridden air. It was really hot, even with the A/C, waiting behind one other car. Seemed like it was taking awhile for their ‘fast food’ order. I got my money ready, pulled up to the window and the girl announced: ‘HERE! IT’S FREE! SINCE YOU HAD TO WAIT SO LONG!’
WOW! What a nice surprise!

I instantly thought of the ‘Good Hearted Living Principles’ by Steve Wilson, CSP (my Certified Laughter Leader teacher). I thought, Thursdays may be for Kindness; but we need a day for SURPRISES! Then, I realized, the SURPRISE is the RESULT of the KINDNESS for the recipient!

As I got to a major intersection traffic light, traffic in front of me was doing the usual STOP, Look and make a RIGHT turn on RED – which is allowed in my neck of the woods. So, I did the same. Well, BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
I automatically screamed and my hands almost flew off the steering wheel! A car was directly on my bumper! From WHERE had it come?

That was my LAST SURPRISE! All I have to say is, it’s best not to do a strong, loud, BEEP when something like that happens. I certainly didn’t pull out in front of anyone on purpose. It looked like I had the ‘all clear.’ Plus, traffic was at a stand still due to another red light up the road and traffic having to merge. No one was going anywhere fast.
So, I don’t really know why the vehicle that beep, did so loudly and aggressively, since we both had to slowly merge into the congested traffic.

So SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE as Gomer Pyle used to say! Some from a psychic premonition, some from a treat for being nice and waiting patiently and some from aggressive, angry drivers –

either way – my blood is pumping and my heart is functioning fine! Thank you very much!

Have a happily, surprising day!
HA HA Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
www.lafolot.com
LIVE LIFE! LAUGH OFTEN!

[this blog can also be seen at VIBRANT NATION under blogger name: Helenoflafolot]

The subject of this e-mail is a motto on my website (-when I’m not menopausal and acting like a fruitcake!) ;o)

I got to share my Helen of LAFOLOT Variety Show Singing and Humorist stories at a Mother’s Day event at Country Meadows Senior Living. There were only about 12 to 14 people there. The smaller audience was welcome, since larger audiences can’t always hear the karaoke and microphone combo unit I use.

There was a man named Marty and a woman named Mary sitting side-by-side. No connection, just happened to be sitting next to one another. WELL! They were singing out loud, right along with me! I sing songs from the 20s, 30s, 40s through the present. They know the words better than I do!

At the end, I had a spontaneous thought – I said: ‘I’m going to make t-shirts for the two of you! They’ll say M & on one t-shirt and M on the other!’ Marty and Mary LOVED the idea! They said they would wear the t-shirts and make sure to sit side-by-side if I came back to sing.

I made sure to tell them it would likely take a week, but I’d get the shirts to them. I got their sizes – L and M.

So, I DESIGNED the M&M logo – I made it a little different and with more color. One note: Marty of M&M with dancing musical notes underneath and the other said: Mary of M&M – it was within a red outlined circle with my LAFOLOT logo underneath.

WELL! I drove down and dropped them off this morning. I thought I’d just give them to the Activities Director but there sat a group of seniors waiting for an activity to start. MARTY’S EYES BEEMED! He even got a little teary eyed!

He was so thrilled! He said: ‘I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU REMEMBERED!’ I said: ‘I WOULDN’T HAVE PROMISED AND NOT STUCK TO IT!’

He was soooo moved – he shakily stood up out of his chair – used my hand to steady himself and ASKED if he could thank me with a hug! I thought that was so nice that he ASKED – I said sure!

Then – they told me where Mary’s room was – I encountered Mary in her wheelchair – heading back towards her room. Mary is very hard of hearing – so I bent towards her ear and HOLLERED that I had made her the shirt. She was ECSTATIC! She was so thrilled and couldn’t thank me enough! Mary told me, once again, how much she enjoyed my singing and hoped I would be back soon! WOW!

AW SHUCKS! I did it because I thought it would be a fun idea – and might get me back for more singing!
The reaction was PRICELESS! What a GIFT!
What more can I say!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Live Life! Laugh Often!
www.lafolot.com
[this can also been seen at Vibrant Nation Blog Circle name: Helenoflafolot]

Love is a verb, and can come as Quarters, Cash, or Rice in the shape of a heart, too! (…a Highlighted Helen moment)

Being in the throes of menopause as well as dealing with a week of overcast skies; yesterday was a bit gloomy. I went to my favorite Thai Palace restaurant for lunch. The owners Lily and Xay are always friendly and accommodating as well as their servers Heli, Pen, and Mai. I feel like a Queen while dining there. So, having a gloomy day – what a surprise it was when Lily brought my lunch special with a side of rice in the shape of a Heart! It put an instant smile on my face, and I let her know it was appreciated!

Another friend sent me an e-mail the other day about going through life and not saying ‘I love you’ to the people you cherish. I had to laugh, because that phrase wasn’t mentioned in my household. I’m not saying there wasn’t caring and concern, just not the verbal mention. Hence, I don’t relate much to the phrase. I feel actions speak louder than words.

I remember tagging along with my mom to my grandparent’s house when I was 4 or 5. My grandfather would sit at the kitchen table; a stocky, dark haired-bald in front, dark brown eyed man with glasses. As a child, I was afraid of him. I was afraid of a lot of people that were taller and bigger than me. I remember my mother telling me to go say ‘Hello’ to Grand Pop and he would hold out a quarter for me.

It didn’t relieve my fear; and shortly after – he passed on of a heart attack while sleeping, around age 62.

Growing up in a household with challenges of alcohol, prescription drugs, and brain damage (amongst family members), I am grateful I had a roof over my head, meals and got my High School diploma. I realized later on, one of my mom’s ways of expressing her love was to give money to her kids.
Initially, as a teenager and young adult, it angered me; because I felt I was being bought. As I got older, I realized it was her way of expressing her love.

So, when I entered 12-Step programs for Adult Children of Alcoholics and Overeaters Anonymous, I sent my sponsor a card one day. I wrote inside: ‘I feel you are worth the money I spent on the card and the stamp!’ She laughed when I told her that was worth all the gold in the world coming from me, with my strong budget-mindedness! Ha ha, she let me know she would cherish it.

When my friend sent me the e-mail the other day, I let her know some of the above information and responded with: AND HERE’S SOME CASH FOR YOU, TOO! I mean it, from the bottom of my heart!
I forwarded the e-mail to another friend that would understand, and sent her an e-mail with VIRTUAL CASH, from the bottom of my heart! She wrote back, ‘I LOVE you, too!’ *smile

When I got the Rice Heart the other day; I could accept it as a gift of LOVE from a local restaurant owner, along with her husband. Xay makes sure to prepare my food ‘just the way I like it!’ Even if Xay says he has to wash his hands to get all the hot pepper off after he makes it! I like my food No. 10, Thai Hot!

So, to all my friends reading this out there; here is some virtual cash, and I mean it, from the bottom of my heart!

Highlighted Ha Ha Helen of LAFOLOT
…have a virtual quarter and a Rice Heart to go along with it! I’m feeling generous!
Feel the LOVE!

Addendum: The GIFT of GIVING keeps on giving and giving and giving!

When I went to dine at Thai Palace for lunch, I let the owner and staff know I had written about them on my blog, due to their kindness. When I was done eating lunch, I passed two diners in a booth. The woman mentioned that her male friend admired that I was sitting in the booth with all the sunlight. He noted that I was glowing in the light. I said, WOW, I just wrote a blog on this very thing! I told her, ‘You made my day!’ I said: ‘I’ve been a bit down, because of the overcast weather, and you’ve given me a gift with that compliment!’ She smiled and thanked me. The, she noted that she knew me from a Summer event where I had my LAFOLOT table set up. She gave me ANOTHER gift by sharing that she still had my ‘Live Life! Laugh Often!’ bumper display on her vehicle! I was thrilled, and told her so. I told her I was feeling down that my message wasn’t getting out there, and she just assured me that it was!

So, when you give the gift of a compliment and noting how people have impacted your life in a positive way; it comes back to you ten times over!

Feel the love… in a compliment and sharing of a kind word!
[This blog can also be seen at Vibrant Nation, a website for women over 50. It's full of wonderful information and sharing.]