Humor has always been a part of my life. My Dad was a story teller who had the ability to create a joke or funny story from every-day events. Although he was a serious man, he always had a joke or funny story to tell. Whenever townsfolk would meet Dad, their common request was to hear a joke, and Dad was always ready and eager to comply. A good yarn spinner captures your attention, holding it until the punchline. My Dad had that ability. I guess some of it rubbed off on me. I remember the first time I saw the Three Stooges. I was about ten years old and a movie club started in my home town. The head of this club was a man who was able to acquire movies of all types and showed the movies every Friday evening at the high school gymnasium. Among the full-length films, he would mix in an evening of comedy with the Stooges, Laurel & Hardy and other funny people. I so enjoyed the comedy shows. This was during the closing years of World War II and provided comedy relief for the towns people. Seeing people grin, guffaw and outright belly-laugh impressed me; even more-so the retelling of funny portions of the shows as they exited the gym. In different parts of my career, I did a lot of speaking before an audience and found that an appropriate joke was always appreciated and made a good transition into the main topic; I also found that a humorous anecdote could simplify a concept, making it easier to understand. It has to be the right anecdote, though, to be effective. Today I collect jokes and create many of my own. Like my Dad when I was young, friends look forward to my next visit, anxious to hear one of my jokes...and I'm glad to accommodate them. He also published a Religious Spiritual Book titled "God's Hand In My Life".