Laughter is good medicine. If you have not had a dose in a while, it’s high time you did.

Here is what George Bernard Shaw, the Irish playwright and philosopher, had to say about laughter. He said, “Laughter is that older and greater church to which I belong: the church where the oftener you laugh the better, because by laughter only can you destroy evil without malice, and affirm good fellowship without mawkishness.”

As a quick aside, the word “mawkishness” is one that I was not familiar with and had never used before. It means “characterized by false or feeble sentimentality: sickening or insipid.” Well, so much for that, but going to the dictionary is how we learn.

For the past several days I have been chuckling about a story I heard a while back, and I thought you would enjoy it as well. It seems a man and his wife had four sons, and their ages were fairly close together. It was a real struggle, but somehow this man and his wife were able to send all four boys to college to get a good education. In time they all prospered and became doctors and lawyers and each became quite wealthy. After many years had passed, the old man passed away and the mother was left all alone. Knowing this situation, the successful sons decided to do something special for her.

Sometime later they chatted after having dinner together. They discussed the gift they were able to give their elderly mother, who lived far away in another city. The first said, “I had a big house built for mama.” The second said, “I had a $100,000 theatre built in the house.” The third said, “I had my Mercedes deliver her a SL600.” The fourth said, “Listen to this. You know mama loved reading the Bible and you know she can’t read it anymore because she can’t see very well. I met this priest who told me about a parrot who can recite the entire Bible. It took the priest 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for 20 years to the church, but it was worth it. Mama just names the chapter and verse and the parrot recites it.”

The other brothers were impressed. In a few weeks after receiving the gifts, Mama sent out her “thank you” cards. To the first son she wrote, “Sam, the house you built is huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house, but thanks anyway.” To the second son she wrote, “Bill, you gave me an expensive theater with Dolby sound. It could hold 50 people but all my friends are dead. I’ve lost my hearing and I am nearly blind. I’ll never use it, but thanks for the gesture just the same.” To the third she wrote, “Frank, I am too old to travel. I stay home and have my groceries delivered, so I never use the Mercedes. The thought was good. Thanks.”

And to the fourth she wrote, “Dearest Julian, you were the only son to give a little thought to your gift. The chicken was delicious. Thank you.”

As I said, I have been chuckling about this story for days. Hope you enjoyed it as well. As I travel around the country making speeches, I love to inject humor into my talks. It helps the audience to relax and it helps me to relax as well. Also, humor or laughter helps to pass the time.

While I always want to have a message or a serious side of my talks, I have noticed that the humor speakers get invited back more often and receive a larger fee. But the real purpose of today’s column is to highlight the special attention we should each give to our mothers who are still living. Mothers are special and why we celebrate “Mother’s Day.”

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(Editor’s Note: For a personally signed copy of my new book ‘Your Future Begins Today’ send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)