Monday is Share Your World day. Today is the first Monday of a new year and a new decade. So let’s see what Melanie, at Sparks From a Combustible Mind, wants us to share.
QUESTIONS:
Is “hello” enough for you these days?
You had me at “hello.”
Do you believe in Murphy? For those who aren’t familiar with Murphy, here’s a wee explanation: Murphy’s Law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
These days I believe that the proverbial Murphy has inhabited the bodies of Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and most Republicans in Congress. It’s time for an exorcism!
Does evil come from within? If so, why?
I don’t believe that humans are born evil or that evil is an inherited trait. Evil is learned. I also think the definition of evil is fluid. For example, some people believe abortion is evil. Others believe that denying a woman domain over her own reproductive rights is evil. Some think homosexuality is evil, but others don’t. Seems to me that evil, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
Are intelligent people more or less happy than others? What defines intelligence?
There is no correlation between intelligence and happiness. One can be intelligent and happy, intelligent and unhappy, dumb and happy or dumb and unhappy. That said, I did come across at least one article reporting the results of a study, which concluded that, “Those with lower IQ are less happy than those with higher IQ.”
Please feel free to share a quote, photo or thought about gratitude.
I had my first follow-up appointment with my ear surgeon today, and he said that, of all the possible outcomes from the surgery, mine was the second best. And for that, I’m grateful. He was able to remove the entire mass without having to drill into my skull. But the growth had destroyed one of the small middle ear bones, which means my hearing won’t be restored in that ear. But he also said that, after a second surgery to implant a prosthetic bone six months from now, there is a strong possibility that my hearing will be at least partially restored. And I’d be extremely grateful if that’s the case.
Notice the bold text in the above message. It reminds people to put their trees out on the night before their scheduled compost collection and to place them next to their compost bins.
What’s the big deal, you ask? We walk our dog along these streets each day (and night) and she feels compelled to stop at each and every discarded tree to sniff and often to pee on them. And because there are so many, it adds considerably to the time it takes for her to make the rounds.
Dr. Tanya, at Salted Caramel, published another one of her 
Welcome to “Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge.” Each week I will be posting a photo I grab off the internet and challenge bloggers to write a flash fiction piece or poem inspired by the photo. There are no style or word limits.
For the visually challenged writer, the image is a drawing of an artist’s desk with a wood human body model and a desk lamp shining down on a pencil sketch of a superhero. Other sketches are pinned to a bulletin board. There is a full coffee cup on the left side of the desk and a plant on the right.
This, That, and the Other 