I delivered the punchline. She giggled at first and then followed the giggle with an outburst of laughter. She and I are now friends. That's what I do. I make people laugh. I'm Todd and I'm a humorist. I feel that humor can break through many of the walls that separate us. In fact, I'm planning on changing the world with it.

I wasn't originally planning on changing the world but I realized that I should the other day. My friend Janelle came to me crying. I didn't really know what to do. I like Janelle. Janelle is pretty with brown hair that falls just to her shoulders. If you ask me a pretty girl of 19 with brown hair that falls just to her shoulders probably shouldn't be crying. I gave her a hug and then she started telling me about her life. She told me about her boyfriend and how he'd had another run-in with the police. I still didn't know what to say. She told me about her parents and how they were thinking about kicking her out of the house. I asked her why they would do that. She told me that they were upset at her for not going to college and not getting a job.

"That's silly." I said. "College and jobs aren't all there are in life." She looked at me funny and then laughed. I told her that perhaps she could get a job in the submarine corps or maybe she could become or a world-famous humanitarian. I mentioned to her that there are a lot of good submarines out there that are looking for a girl who doesn't want to go to college and doesn't really want to work anywhere. Janelle laughed again. She then wiped her final tear.

She looked at me and said, "Perhaps I should become a submarine stewardess."

"That's a good idea. We'll market it." I paused and said, "Janelle, you're great." She laughed again and then thanked me. "I think everything will turn out alright. You're learning something right now. Keep on smiling and thank God you've got people who love you." I told her.

Soon she left. I realized right there that I would use humor to change the world. By no means am I forsaking seriousness. I use humor to relieve hurting where I can, when I can. I don't force it. I go deeper than the surface if they want. Mainly laughing seems to me to be a gateway. A very powerful and effective gateway.

So now I'm on a journey of sorts. A journey to change the world with light-heartedness, one person at a time. Off I go!

LETTERS FROM READERS