“The cackles of the geese tickle an inner instinct for self-preservation, one that begs for a mirthful means of venting the eco-rage. Valentine Michael Smith comes to mind, that Martian-raised human of Stranger in a Strange Land*, when he finally groks, or comprehends, human humor: “I’ve found out why people laugh,” Smith said. “They laugh because it hurts so much…because it’s the thing that’ll make it stop hurting.”
Well, Amsterdam. Maybe Reader’s Digest had it right all along; laughter really is the best medicine. The iron fist around my mirth motor loosens, and a single chuckle escapes. Heh. Or maybe two. Or maybe so many that I fear that I may not be able to stop. Isn’t that how you always see the crazies carried off in straitjackets in the movies? Laughing maniacally for no reason?
If only I’d changed out of my yoga clothes before running away to the park. The slept-in-these-clothes look isn’t supporting my case for sanity . . .”
#bookexcerpt #LoveEarthNow
*Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land (New York: Ace Books, 1961)
