Laughter on the Breeze

A string of laughter, what is a string of laughter? Is it an actual string? Maybe it is a line of people laughing, or maybe just one person, who laughs on forever. People can laugh strong enough to compare them to a rope, so do some only laugh hard enough to compare to a string? In my opinion, a string of laughter is from the wind. Carrying along on the breeze, it settles cozily in a mother’s ears as her children play.

Wind always pulls things along, carrying dust, leaves, snow, and other odds and ends of our lives. It brings in the storm, and tows away the fog. It pulls the bird along for an easy flight and fills the boats sails. It brings us the sounds from far away, and alerts us to danger. But it also takes our dreams away, demolishes buildings, and deceives us with the cross-breeze. Dreams float away on the rope of the wind, and new ones take their place. It spreads the flames in a fire, and then turns them back on themselves.

Wind has many sides, many personalities. It can be angry in the tornado, sad when creaking the old barn's joints. Its gentleness is shown in the slight breeze on a summer day, and its joy in the blustery one. You know it’s annoyed when it stirs up a small dust devil. It congratulates you in the clapping of the trees branches, and wails with you in the rain. Wind is a friend, and an enemy for the people who have suffered its wrath.


My favorite gift of the wind is from my senses. Smells carried in from a wildflower field, or maybe after a rain, a strain of music from a concert, a cooling touch on your neck in heat, and the water in your mouth from the kitchens tantalizing aromas. Sights are affected by the wind. You don’t see the wind itself, but you know where it is and where it’s been. The willows branches whipping, writhing in the power in the wind, swirling leaves, making tornadoes, and the waves crashing on the turf.

How can the wind have so much effect without us seeing? How can it be so good, yet so evil? Wind has more power than we give it credit. It plays such a big part in our lives, and we take it for granted. There are so many thoughts the word wind brings us, and to think it all started with a string of laughter.