Remember Pollyanna? I doubt that anyone does. Here's a test: what was her boyfriend's name?

That's not why I am alluding to her. For those of you who are too young to remember, Pollyanna was the eponymous title of a children's book about a minister's daughter who was very poor. Orphaned, she was sent to live with her Aunt Polly, a rich, bitter, old maid, with whom she tried to play the Glad Game her father had taught her. The goal of the game was to find something to be glad about, no matter what happened. Sometimes it was hard. That's it; the whole book is about how Pollyanna infiltrated and changed the hearts of her aunt and the whole community.

People refer to anyone who tries to look on the bright side of things as a pollyanna, with condescension and often scorn. But...boy, do we need it/her now!

We have suffered a long, cold, hard winter. Did I mention long? Too long. People are hanging on by their fingernails waiting for warmth and sunshine. I know, I know: we are blessed. We are sheltered and fed, safe and secure and warm - inside. We have nothing to complain about. But I'm not glad about it, not as glad as I should be.

Someone tell me a joke.