Laughter Is The Best Medicine Finalist

Normally, medicine is the last thing I want to be prescribed. However, laughter really is the best medicine, and that’s a prescription I never balk at. But in a twist, I never saw coming, I may be the one doing the prescribing!

This weekend I was thrilled to get an email from the editor of Chicken Soup for the Soul. It informed me that my submission, “The Parking Problem,” made it to the final round for their upcoming Laughter is the Best Medicine edition.

I think they might have done that same topic or a similar one before, but I don’t think I ever submitted anything. Or if I did, I don’t remember. (It’s definitely not one of the Chicken Soup titles I’ve had work included in so far.)

I’d always wanted to submit to one of their Funny callouts, though. I feel like I have a lot of humorous stories. (In fact, I submitted two to the Laughter Is the Best Medicine topic.)

The trouble is writing them. Well, writing them isn’t hard. “Crafting” is the word I’m actually seeking. That’s hard.

Did Erma Bombeck help me in this case, though? Possibly.

I’d never read her The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank until this year, which I read right before seeing the Funny callout. Maybe it gave me some good mojo.

Not that I’m definitely in. I’ll find that out closer to publication time if they send the official acceptance letter.

If they publish, that is. So far, the bankruptcy of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment division isn’t affecting their book publishing arm. (A controversy I hated to learn about since I really love the CSFTS brand and spirit.)

For now, it’s just nice to get a little good news. Well, that sort of good news. I also get a weekly dose in a slightly different way from another source.

A Bit of Good News

Speaking of good news, it was thanks to my friend Jade Walker that I learned about Chicken Soup’s bankruptcy and legal problems. Which, no, that wasn’t good news.

But Jade “is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of experience.” (Which I copied directly from her site.) She knows how dire most of the news is these days, so that’s why she created A Bit of Good News, a Substack she publishes weekly with happy and uplifting stories.

I look forward to finding it in my inbox every week, and to taking the polls. She always includes a fun topic, and I get a kick out of seeing what it will be. So check it out if you’re wanting something positive to hit your inbox too.