Look Who's Laughing Rib-Tickling Stories of Fun, Faith, Family, and Friendship

Look Who's Laughing! Copyright © 2003 by Ann Spangler Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Look who's laughing! : rib-tickling stories of fun, faith, family, and friendship / compiled by Ann Spangler and Shari MacDonald. p. cm. ISBN-10: 0-310-24692-X ISBN-13: 978-0-310-24692-3 1. Religion - Humor. 2. Conduct of life - Humor. I. Spangler, Ann. II. MacDonald, Shari PN6231 .R4 L66 2003 818 '.60208 - dc21 2002155410 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other - except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Interior design by Michelle Espinoza Printed in the United States of America We want to hear from you. Please send your comments about this book to us in care of zreview@zondervan.com. Thank you. Man is the powder, woman the spark. - Lope De Vega Women like silent men. They think they are listening. - Marcel Achard Men Are Funny, Women Are Hilarious . . . Together We're Hysterical One Man's Treasure G. Ron Darbee I suppose I should have seen it coming, should have recognized the signs, picked up on the subtle hint. But after so many years of marriage, I really didn't want to believe it was true. Oh, she sent all the right signals, I guess. She even threatened a time or two. Maybe I loved her too much, trusted her too completely. When it finally happened - when all that trust shattered and her veil of secrecy lifted - there was no one left to blame but myself. I went to bed early, consistent with my usual routine, but rather than falling directly to sleep, I waited. Because of my morning commute, it's not unusual for me to retire before Sue, anyway. I didn't think she knew of my suspicions, but later she claimed she did. In a way, I think she wanted to be caught, to get it out in the open and end the sneaking around. About an hour later, Sue poked her head in the door, ensuring herself I was out for the night. I heard the fumbling of keys in her purse and the sound of the back door creaking before I rose and followed in pursuit. Stepping into the garage behind her, I caught her red-handed. "Ah!" I said, in the manner of one who has just caught his spouse red-handed. "So what do you have to say for yourself?" Sue spun around quickly, startled and caught off guard. Following her first impulse, she feigned surprise and pretended to gasp for breath, all the while attempting to hide something in the small of her back. I didn't fall for the clever ruse and demanded to see what she held behind her. "It's nothing," Sue said. "Really . . . nothing." Her face displayed only guilt, and shame shone through the facade of shock. "Nothing, is it?" I said. "We'll see about that. What have you got there? What are you hiding behind your back?" "Don't make me show you," she pleaded. "Please, can we just go inside and forget about this? Pretend it never happened?" "I don't think so, Sue. It's gone too far. I'll be seeing what you're hiding there now, if you please." Slowly, cautiously, she pulled her hand around. I knew what to expect even before I saw it. "Those are my baseball cards, aren't they?" I said, my heart nearly pounding through my chest. "You've been cleaning out the garage again, haven't you?" "Yes!" She said it defianSpangler, Ann is the author of 'Look Who's Laughing Rib-Tickling Stories of Fun, Faith, Family, and Friendship' with ISBN 9780310246923 and ISBN 031024692X.