You know them and have probably dealt with them for years. They’re called pessimists, or nay-sayers — or just downers. No matter what the situation, they can find a way to make it worse.

During a recent illness that I had to have taken care of, they managed to find and elucidate all the possible horrible outcomes — ”if you’re not careful.” Thanks! I think that’s why I have a doctor.

Negative Nellies we called them when we were young. They’re the type that if they go out to smell the roses, they’ll end up looking for the casket that they think should go with them. Our lives are finite and we really don’t have a lot of time to spend listening to that stuff. Find the friend that can lift you up — in every situation, and you’re golden. Not to mention lucky. They are worth their weight in gold.

I wrote this a while ago to emphasize how this negativity can impact people’s lives, and why we need to find and keep the uplifting folks around us. The poem is called:

If You’re Down, I’m Gone

If you want to be down then that’s your choice,

In the state of your mind — I have no voice.

But I’ll tell you this —I ’m no man’s pawn.

If you’re gonna be down, I’m gonna be gone.

The curl of your lip and your downcast eyes,

Are things that I’ve really come to despise.

When you open your mouth, it’s just to complain.

You can’t see the sun if you stand in the rain.

I’ve tried to encourage you to be up,

But all you can see is an empty cup.

My heart can be full of the joy of living,

But ten minutes with you and I’m full of misgiving.

Life is too short to be borrowing pain,

And I don’t want one moment lived in vain.

So, I’m telling you now and the light better dawn

If you’re gonna be down, then I’m gonna be gone. - JDF

Joke: A little girl asked her school teacher about the story of Jonah and the whale. The teacher just smiled and said that a whale couldn’t swallow something as big as a human. The little girl started to argue but the teacher insisted. The girl than said, ”Well, I’m just gonna ask Jonah when I get to Heaven.” The teacher smirked and said, “What if Jonah went to hell?” Without missing a beat, the girl answered, “Then you ask him!”

Favorite one and two liners

Spring may be the sprouting season but wild oats grow all year long.

I’m so old, my train of thought often leaves the station without me.

Giving help to the enemy used to be called treason. Now it’s called “foreign aid.”

Men in denim built this country and men in silk suits are now destroying it.

Inflation is the price you pay for all those government benefits you thought were free.

Historical tidbits

Squire Whipple was a civil engineer from Utica who invented an iron-trussed bridge in 1840. It replaced the wooden ones. Later, he designed a series of lift bridges and eventually became known as, “the father of American bridge building.”

A $100,000 bill was made in 1934-35, but was only used for reserve banks and the US Treasury.

In 1787, the penny didn’t say, “E Pluribus Unum.” It said, “Mind Your Business.”

In Ben Franklin’s day, people repaired torn bills with a needle and thread.

OK — stay positive and well; see you around. - JDF