SEARCH: The Lighter Side

The Lighter Side

by Oksanna Normandeau

In everything I do,
I want to manifest

Joy, happiness, love.

The feeling of being…ALIVE.

My God,
How GOOD
It feels
To be ALIVE.
With a flawlessly imperfect flesh
carrying me,
A voice that soothes,
Even the most colicky of babies,
With eyes that are weak
but can still SEE every little detail
Of your lips that form
A perfectly crested smile,
Sending shivers
Down my neck…
I LISTEN,
With beautiful ears
Of intention

Read more of Oksanna Normandeau’s poetry in SEARCH Magazine‘s Winter 2022 #KeepLaughing issue.

SEARCH: Sharing a Laugh

Sharing a Laugh

by Lillian Csernica

Children and adults who have Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) struggle with learning social skills. Symptoms of ASD often include difficulty making friends, understanding what other people are thinking or feeling, and appearing rude or not interested when they don’t mean that at all. These symptoms can lead neurotypical people to think ASD people have no sense of humor. The truth is, ASD people may display a more authetic sense of humor than people who have been socialized to laugh or giggle whether or not what’s being said is funny.

“One of the reasons autistic people are thought to lack a sense of humor may be due to the fact that they engage less than neurotypicals in ‘social interaction’ laughter,”…

Read more of Lillian’s article in our #KeepLaughing issue.

SEARCH: City Spotlight on Pullman, WA

City Spotlight on Pullman, WA

by Renee Roulo

Located in eastern Washington, deep in the Palouse, Pullman is an adorable college town with cute coffee shops, bike paths, and rolling hills.

The Palouse region was formed following the ice age when glaciers moved down from Canada and ground up the earth below it, causing rock dust to cover everything in layers of silt. Wind blew the dust until it finally settled into the hills we see now. Pullman is separated into several different parts.

Washington State University sits in the center of the town on a massive hill. Students get “cougar calves”—named after the school’s mascot—from walking up and down the hill all day.

South of campus, is Pullman’s downtown. It has several great

Read more in SEARCH Magazine‘s Winter 2022 #KeepLaughing issue.

SEARCH: I Still Use the Wii

I Still Use the Wii

by Kristin Battestella

I first learned about the Wii as an Activities Director in the aughts. Every senior facility wanted Nintendo’s newest console.

I also realized I had a very bad Lyme Disease case when I couldn’t compete with my elderly charges and several years later my husband bought the Wii Fit Plus to help my recovery. Most of my video game experience stemmed from Atari and Space Invaders or DOS with The Ultimate Doom, but the Wii’s hook was that anyone can use it—even groups or nongamers like me. I began with lighthearted Sports and gentle yoga before advancing to running multiple miles and the EA Sports Active Challenge. This daily Wii had me back in high school ice hockey shape…

Read more in SEARCH Magazine‘s Winter 2022 #KeepLaughing issue.

SEARCH: Mary Tyler Moore

Mary Tyler Moore

by Kristin Battestella

In 1970, The Mary Tyler Moore Show premiere introduced Mary Tyler Moore as the idealistic Mary Richards, the new associate producer at perpetually low-rated WJM-TV Minneapolis
News. Mary left her doctor fiancé, who couldn’t say I love you.

She portrayed a modern working woman and the trials—and humor—to go with it. The series tackles Mary living alone amid robbery fears and endears viewers with sitcom familiars
from the beloved wife on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Early in the series, ageism and divorced friends are addressed before pushing the envelope with career choices and the “lonely single gal guilt-tripped into working on Christmas Eve” trope. The awkwardness of someone short dating someone tall…

Read more from Kristin Battestella in SEARCH Magazine’s Winter 2022 #KeepLaughing issue.

SEARCH: The Dancing Flower Girl

The Dancing Flower Girl
by Michele Roger

It was one of my very first performances as a solo harpist. The bride had asked me if there was a children’s song that I could play that would cue her four-year-old niece when it was time to carry her basket of flowers down the aisle. Weeks ahead of the wedding, we agreed, “Little April Showers,” from the Disney movie Bambi would be the flower girl song.

When the day of the wedding arrived, the archway where the couple would exchange vows was covered in the most beautiful purple wisteria I’d ever seen. Family slowly made their way to their seats while I played a prelude filled with love songs. The grandparents walked down the aisle to the song from their wedding, “I’ll Be Seeing You.” Then, the parents walked down to their wedding song, “Color My World” by Chicago. Finally, it was time for the wedding party. Each wedding couple proceeded down the aisle in lavender gowns that matched that of the wisteria in the archway.

When the wedding coordinator gave me the cue, I began to play “Little April Showers,” as planned. A little girl gingerly took about ten steps while enrobed in many layers of toile before she recognized the music being played for her. About mid-aisle, she stopped and set down her basket of rose petals. A tiny gasp could be heard from the wedding guests…

Read more in SEARCH Magazine‘s Winter 2022 #KeepLaughing issue.

SEARCH: Lithuania and Rokas the Magician

Lithuania and Rokas the Magician
by Kay Tracy

One of the great parts of doing what I do, is that when I travel, I often have the great fortune to meet a variety of interesting people. Rokas, a magician from Lithuania, is one such person.

I was in Las Vegas for a magic school and had the great pleasure of seeing him perform. His wit and humor, as well as skill, was entertaining and engaging.

Rokas has been to the U.S. several times, and has even performed on the show Penn and Teller: Fool Us, winning the Fool Us Trophy! He is a gracious, and delightful entertainer.

His home country, Lithuania, is located along the Baltic Sea and has an amazing variety of things to do and see. If you like amber, Lithuania might be a place you will want to visit, as they have what is called the Amber Road along the Baltic with shops, tours, and opportunities to hunt amber yourself. Lithuania also participates in the Eurovision Song Contest, something that gets overlooked in the United States.

While the official language is Lithuanian, English is common and accepted as the language most tourists speak, so travel there should be friendly…

Read more about Lithuania and Rokas the Magician from Kay Tracy in our Winter 2022 #KeepLaughing issue.

SEARCH: The Crooning Comedian

The Crooning Comedian

by Elliot Thorpe

In August 1969, Billboard declared Dean Martin “The Total Entertainer.”

While that’s not entirely true (he never performed live theatre nor starred in Broadway musicals), Dino owned his own restaurant, his own production companies, had shares in a Las Vegas casino, did hundreds of sell-out Vegas shows, regularly topped the music charts, starred in hit movies, and headlined his own ratings-busting NBC show. In 1968, he purportedly earned more money for that year than anyone in the history of show business.

Of those who knew and worked with him, we would all say the same thing, he was a perfect gentleman, respectful of his peers, and exceptionally hardworking. He just made it look easy! While music was the career that made Dino very rich and was a path he’d always longed to go down back when he was a busboy and a croupier in Steubenville, his natural flair for comedy was what brought him to the attention of millions.

He, of course, began his comedy career with Jerry Lewis. When I co-wrote the biography Dean Martin Recollections, I referenced a line spoken by Jason Statham’s character from the movie Transporter 3, where he insisted that Dino was the funny one, not Jerry, and he could make people laugh by just holding a whisky tumbler and a cigarette…

Read the rest of The Crooning Comedian from Elliot Thorpe in SEARCH Magazine‘s Winter 2022 #KeepLaughing issue.

SEARCH: Author Spotlight on Michele Roger

Name: Michele Roger

Location: Michigan

What do you write?: I’m a Horror and Paranormal Romance writer. My writing works include The Conservatory, Eternal Kingdom: A Vampire Novel, Agent For the Orchestra, Her Immortal Beloved, The Telephone Booth, and most recently, Terror Under the Lupin Moon (available on Kindle Vella).

You’ve written for every issue of SEARCH Magazine since the beginning, which we really appreciate. What else do you do?: When I’m not writing stories or the music column for SEARCH Magazine, I’m writing music…or playing it.

Learn more about Michele Roger in our Fall 2022 #KeepLaughing issue.

SEARCH: My BFF is a Bad Influence

My BFF is a Bad Influence

by Tim Reynolds

What can you do when your BFF is a troublemaker and a bad influence? What can you do when your mother doesn’t like your BFF and cringes whenever their name is mentioned?

What can you do when your BFF is a dragon puppet who wears a striped turtleneck, work boots, and size 6X OshKosh B’Gosh coveralls festooned with buttons that say “Why Be Normal” and “I Love My Dad?”

You do the same thing I did when Benny came into my life. When I say “came into my life” I don’t mean he walked in the door and sat down on the couch with a beer, I mean I created him as an assignment in Children’s Drama Class in college. As soon as I gave him a voice like an articulate Cookie Monster, though, he became his own…presence.

When I say “presence” I mean he got invited to floor parties in residence and the girls loved him. How much? Let’s just say that Benny got kissed more in college than I ever did…

Read the rest of My BFF is a Bad Influence from Tim Reynolds in SEARCH Magazine‘s Winter 2022 #KeepLaughing issue.