Have a little laugh in life . . .

Suzanne and I both had the day off yesterday, so we decided to take a road trip and explore Indiana's First City:  Vincennes.  It's just an hour up the road, but it's a place we don't manage to get to very often.  We should.  It's one of the most eclectic little places you'll ever go.

For history lovers, it is Indiana's First City,  Founded in 1732 by French fur traders, notably, François-Marie Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes for whom the Fort was named, Vincennes is the oldest continually inhabited European settlement in Indiana and one of the oldest settlements west of the Appalachians.

There's:
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park  
Fort Knox II  
Grouseland, President William Henry Harrison Mansion  
Indiana Military Museum
McGrady-Brockman House (Regional History/Genealogical Research Center)  
Old Cathedral (Basilica of St. Francis Xavier)  
Old Cathedral Library & Museum  
Old French House & Indian Museum  
Vincennes State Historic Sites 

And then there is the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy, which celebrates the life and legacy of one of America's greatest comedians (born in Vincennes in 1913).  Here you'll meet Freddie the Freeloader, Clem Kadiddlehopper, as well of other characters whom he brought to life through his radio and television shows.  Show my parents and grandparents were certainly big fans of.

Here are just a few of Red’s thoughts:

Live by this credo: have a little laugh at life and look around you for happiness instead of sadness. Laughter has always brought me out of unhappy situations.
 
There are three signs of old age: loss of memory ... I forget the other two.

I personally believe that each of us was put here for a purpose -- to build not to destroy. If I can make people smile, then I have served my purpose for God.

Old age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.

Any kid will run any errand for you, if you ask at bedtime.
 
Today's comics use four-letter words as a shortcut to thinking. They're shooting for that big laugh and it becomes a panic thing, using four-letter words to shock people.

I don't need glasses, but I've just reached the age where curiosity is greater than vanity.

No matter what your heartache may be, laughing helps you forget it for a few seconds.

My doctor said I look like a million dollars - green and wrinkled.

Congress: Bingo with billions.

I've put on a lot of weight... I only weighed six and a half pounds when I was born.

Television: The device that brings into your living room characters you would never allow in your living room.

Our principles are the springs of our actions. Our actions, the springs of our happiness or misery. Too much care, therefore, cannot be taken in forming our principles.

God's children and their happiness are my reasons for being.

And finally,

If by chance some day you're not feeling well and you should remember some silly thing I've said or done and it brings back a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart, then my purpose as your clown has been fulfilled.
Red Skelton

The Red Skelton Museum certainly does that.  Get out and explore.  If nothing else, just for some laughs.

Carpe diem Life,
David Kuhn