Smiley Anders for May 9, 2012

A reader says he’s been volunteering one day a week at a local pre-K.

He received an email from his sister about a group of 4- to 8-year-olds in another state being asked: “What does love mean?”

And he thought: Why not ask the teacher at the school where he volunteers to ask the same question of her pre-K students.

Here are a few of their answers:

• “Love is when your dad shares his ice cream cone with you.”
• “Love is when people tell you you smell good.”
• “Love is my mom kissing me awake.”
• “Love is when I get stuff on my new shirt and Momma makes it clean.”
• “Love is when my dad gets me up to go to his office.”
• “Love is when you do things for other people, like pushing your baby brother in the stroller so your mother can relax some.”
• “Love means you always get hugs from your mom and dad.”
• And my favorite: “You know someone loves you if they look at you for a long time and then smile.”

Fair warning

Al Schroeck says, “Bob Bonella, a friend of ours who lives near Woolengong, New South Wales, Australia, told us a neighbor was troubled by people coming to his door, begging, selling and otherwise being a nuisance.

“He put a sign on his gate: ‘Beware of the Agapanthus.’”

I admit I had to go to the dictionary for that one.

To save you a trip, I’ve put the definition at the bottom of the column.

Make Mom’s day

If your mother doesn’t want flowers for Mother’s Day because she’s allergic to them, doesn’t want candy because she’s on a diet, and thinks diamonds are too ostentatious, maybe she’d like a book.

By coincidence, on Saturday, I’ll be signing my new book, “Smiley! A Laughing Matter,” from 9 a.m. to noon at Main Street Market.

Red Stick Farmer’s Market is going on that day, so you can pick up some corn to go with your other veggies …

Nice People Dept.

Ashley Vallot says she and her husband “would like to recognize the sweet older man dining alone at DeAngelo’s in Central on Friday, and tell him:

“Thank you for paying for our lunch, just to be a blessing.

“We had already noticed how kind you were to your waitresses, and were not expecting such a surprise for us.

“We tried to run out and thank you, but you were already gone.

“I hope you read this column to know how grateful we are. Random acts of kindness prove that there are still great people out there.”

Our man at the Times

Advocate columnist Danny Heitman’s article “Just the Facts” appeared in the May 7 “Draft,” a New York Times online series on writing.

He discusses the value of sticking to the facts while writing nonfiction, in spite of the temptation to embellish.

You can find his article at http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/just-the-facts/.

Flag etiquette

Lawrence Bell tells the reader who asked, “Worn-out American flags can be taken to American Legion Post 81, 421 E. City Park St., in Gonzales, for proper disposal. The post phone number is [phone].”

More good books

Gail Stephenson says, “Using your column to find a home for my surplus Bibles worked so well that I’m hoping you can help me again.

“I have a 1991 set of World Book Encyclopedias in perfect condition. I know most people just use the Internet now, but I’m hoping someone out there can use these books.”

Gail’s at [phone].

Worthy causes

The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life benefits from lemonade sales by FirstAid Lemonaid on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
at Sam’s Club in Cortana Place.

Scented candles will also be sold, along with self-check breast kits to promote breast cancer awareness.

Special People Dept.

• Maurine Parker celebrates her 90th birthday Wednesday.
• Thomas and Lena Landry celebrate their 53rd anniversary Wednesday.

A modern zoo

Algie Petrere tells of the teacher who asked the youngsters in her class about sounds made by various animals:

“Davy, what noise does a cow make?”

“It goes ‘moo.’ ”

“Alice, what noise does a cat make?”

“It goes ‘meow.’ ”

“Jamie, what sound does a lamb make?”

“It goes ‘baaa.’ ”

“Jennifer, what sound does a mouse make?”

“Uhh, it goes …‘click!’ ”

A matter of faith

Mel Prust tells of the flight attendant who said this to a nervous passenger just before their plane took off:

“Look at it this way — if it weren’t safe, would we have let you pay with a credit card?”

Defining moment

An agapanthus is an African lily.

Write Smiley at Smiley@the
advocate.com. He can also be reached by fax at [phone] or mail at P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821.