1) People smiling for no reason.

I don’t mean crazy people smiling at the memory of where they buried the body.
I mean people smiling to themselves like they have a secret you will never get.

When I was at school, there was a guy in the 6th form called Chet, who always walked around smiling.

I was good friends with Chet’s brother, so one day I asked him why he was always strolling around smiling.
His answer was, “Why not? What have I got to be unhappy about? Life is good.”
You’ve got to admire that.

I left Tottenham a while ago, but on the streets of London, not a lot of smiling going on.

Following on from this theme, I saw a little girl (about 5) a little while ago eating an ice lolly that was damned near bigger than she was. And she had the biggest grin on her face.
If I was a little kid, eating such a huge lolly, I’d be smiling too.

2) Dogs licking their owners. In the face.

You do know that your pet has spent half the day licking its own balls, don’t you?

3) Rediscovering sweets I remember from my youth, that I thought had been discontinued.

This memory is soured somewhat by the fact that they have all been shrunk: curly wurley, space raiders, toffoes…

4) Knowing the dialogue to your favourite films, and quoting it occasionally while watching.
My friends think I’m crazy, but they still stick around. Who’s crazy now?

5) Music you discovered in your youth that you still listen to today – for me: Eric Clapton, Bob Marley, Lenny Kravitz, Tracey Chapman, the list goes on…

6) Sunshine

7) Mothers reactions to their little angel screaming in the supermarket because they want THAT sweet, and they want it NOW. Embarrassing. Walk away. They’ll soon stop.

8) Engaging friends in complex political debates, and systematically dismantling their arguments. Weapons of mass destruction?

9) That beautiful feeling when you’ve woken up early in the morning, realised it’s your day off, and happily pull the duvet back over your head.

10) Sitting on a beach, drinking rum & coke, the drink of my heritage.

Copyright © Mark A. McPherson 2012.
All rights reserved