I think laughter may be a form of courage. . . . As humans we sometimes stand tall and look into the sun and laugh, and I think we are never more brave than when we do that.

More from Linda Ellerbee

• How is it that so often...I get the feeling I've worked hard to learn something I already know, or knew, once.
• If men can run the world, why can't they stop wearing neckties? How intelligent is it to start the day by tying a little noose around your neck?
• Styles, like everything else, change. Style doesn't.
• We call them twinkies. You’ve seen them on television acting the news, modeling and fracturing the news while you wonder whether they’ve read the news — or if they’ve blown dried their brains, too.