The power of laughter

The power of love is a curious thing.

Make a one man weep, make another man sing …

— Huey Lewis and the News, “The Power of Love”

Like my man Huey, I believe in the power of love. That particular song was in the movie “Back to the Future,” but I remember being in the sixth grade and listening to Sports on cassette tape … on an endless loop. “I Want a New Drug,” “The Heart of Rock N Roll,” “If This Is It,” “Walking on a Thin Line,” “Bad is Bad” … They all bring back memories.

Thanks to YouTube, I just spent a good 15 minutes strolling down memory lane. Huey sure was good-looking, in that overconfident ’80s rock star kinda way.

Ahem. You might say I learned a lot about love from that album. Or not. I wouldn’t have a chance to put any of that knowledge into practice for years.

The power of love is strong. But the power of laughter is just as important. It lifts your mood, helps relieve stress and might even help you heal. Some experts say “laughter is the best medicine.”

Put love and laughter together and you have a combo that will win every time.

It’s why I write stories with characters who don’t take themselves — or life — all that seriously. Sharing a laugh can bring couples closer together, help them smooth over differences, diffuse tension and put things in perspective. (I’m not the only one who feels that way: This article I’ve bookmarked for future reference talks at length about fixing relationship problems with humor.)

Many famous folks have said great things about laughter. I borrowed these from a list of laughter quotes compiled on Goodreads. They spoke to me — so much that I hope to put them on the backs of my next business cards.

“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.”

— Maya Angelou

“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.”

― Mark Twain

“I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.”

― Billy Joel

“Always laugh when you can, it is cheap medicine.”

― George Gordon, Lord Byron

“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.”

― Victor Borge

“You don’t stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.”

― Michael Pritchard

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.”

― Charlie Chaplin

I just need to decide which look I should go with:

Do you like the colored background or white? If I use the colored one, should I go with the top-bottom gradient (like in the turquoise card) or the left-right (like in the blue)?

I’m leaning toward the white background. It’s clean, simple and matches the logo.

I think I like the embossed look of the top two, though, with the words that appear to be jumping off the page.

Like I said on Facebook, I know just enough about Photoshop to be dangerous. I can do basic designs, but anything elaborate like a book cover or web design is better left to experts like Rogenna and Larissa.

So hard to make up my mind. Do you have a preference? Weigh in in the comments, please.