I've always been a "glass half-full" kind of person (drink of choice being either red wine or an eggcream). So what makes me smile? The smell of freshly cut grass. Ice cream. Bugs Bunny cartoons. A good game of verbal volleyball. Hearing my friends ask, "Is your shingle out?" because they know I'll listen and try to help. Not feeling any older than the high school students I've taught. Walking on Marginal Way on the coast of Maine and being overwhelmed by the wonder of nature. Speaking French well enough to hold my own with a native speaker. Reading Maureen Dowd and Thomas Friedman. Going to the U. S. Open and sneaking into better seats. Traveling to many countries but being just as content to drive upstate or to the Berkshires for fall foliage. Giving a great massage. And most importantly, spending time with my family and realizing that even if they weren't related to me, they'd still be my friends, and spending time with my friends and feeling like they are my family.

If we click, it really doesn't matter where we are. And if that happens, we both experience a revision of the scene in "Annie Hall"--no matter what we're talking about, the cartoon bubbles over our heads have the words "I want to see this person again." For me, that would be someone who laughs easily, gives great hugs, and doesn't think that puns are the lowest form of humor.