As we ready ourselves for the first day of spring this Monday, let us share a favorite springtime fairy tale submitted by the always bright, Langleyite Bob Schoeler.

Once upon a time, in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self-assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess’ lap and said: “Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am, and then, my sweet, we can marry and set up housekeeping in your castle with my mother, where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so.”

That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on lightly sautéed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled and thought to herself: I don’t freakin’ think so.

If you did not laugh at that fairy tale, you may be an emotional male.

Susan Phinney, reporter for the Seattle P-I, wrote a very interesting front page article last Tuesday, March 14 regarding laughter and humor in the medical world. Some of her information was based on the findings of psychology professor Peter Derks who teaches at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

Like many of you, I have no trouble finding humor in most everything. Take, for example, the name of Professor Derks’ place of employment, The College of William and Mary. What other colleges would be neat to attend?

The College of Oliver and Hardy? The College of Martin and Lewis? The College of the Andrew Sisters?

I think I just lost my teen readers.

Phinney’s laughter article is probably archived at www.seattlepi.com. I enjoyed the artist rendering depicting the different areas of the brain as they relate and respond to the mental stimulation produced by laughter.

If you can imagine a side view of the brain, shaped somewhat like an upside down Kentucky, I will walk you through the steps of laughter. We begin on the left side of the cortex, right around Horse Cave, if you happen to be looking at a map of Kentucky. The cortex is the layer of cells covering the forebrain. The left side, or whatever is left of the left side, analyzes the words and structure of a joke.

The brain’s large frontal lobe, located outside Hopkinsville, Kentucky, is the location for those social emotional responses that soon begin to kick in.

The right hemisphere of the cortex, located directly east of Covington, Kentucky, houses the “intellectual analysis required to ‘get’ the joke.” This is the area of the brain that made Gracie Allen, sidekick and funny wife of George Burns, an extremely wealthy lady, laughing all the way to her bank.

Outside Middlesboro, Kentucky, in the southeast corner of our brain, brainwave activity spreads to this sensory processing area of the occipital lobe. For you geography buffs, “Occipital” is not the capital of Kentucky, but is “of or pertaining to the back of the head.”

By the time the punch line of the joke is absorbed, all of the major regions and motor sections of our brain have evoked physical responses. Our audible appreciation sends and seeds a smiling sensation and vibration which can last a lifetime. This is quite unlike the brain circuitry that occurs when we have emotional responses in more specific areas, often-causing headaches and broken mayonnaise jars.

My apologies to National Geographic for turning their 1986 map of Kentucky upside down to simulate and stimulate brain activity. Thanks to Susan Phinney of the Seattle P-I for your yeowoman’s effort.

Laughing is a lot more fun now that I can sense where I am actually vibrating. Several times a day, my right brain hemisphere can relax from the stress of imponderable imagination, intuition, insight and creative chaos to explore silliness simultaneously with the left brain hemisphere, connected by a life line called a punch line to the physical world of reasoning, mathematics, language, scientific skills and logic.

No wonder I am exhausted at the end of the day, too tired to stay awake for the unnecessary laughter of Leno, Letterman, Kimmel and Koepel. I’ve already put in a full day of chortles, guffaws, winces and ha-ha’s.

Remember this, fellows and fellettes, while laughter may not be the best medicine, it certainly is a lot cheaper, and you don’t have to go to Canada.

Jim’s columns are archived at www.southwhidbeyrecord.com