Capiches

Laughter isn’t just about what’s funny—it’s about who you’re with. Research shows we’re far more likely to laugh in the presence of others, because laughter helps signal trust, belonging, and shared understanding. It’s one of the fastest ways humans bond.

Learn the science behind how laughter brings us
together in this article from Greater Good Magazine :

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_laugh
ter_brings_us_together

What kind of humor shows up most in your closest relationships?

😄 Playful teasing
🤫 Inside jokes
🎭 Long-running bits
🙃 Mildly inappropriate but well-intended

Some jokes aren’t about getting a laugh right away. They unfold over time, passed quietly between people who know each other well enough to let the joke breathe.

What’s a bit, tradition, or shared joke in your life that only works because of who it’s with?

Capiche #21: Bird in Florence

If I ever get around to turning Dad’s Capiches into a book, the story about him and Mom in Florence (https://www.capiches.com/c/the-capiches/capiche-1-mom-and-dad-in-florence) will be the first and this one will be the last.

First, the Background:

I’m not sure where it started, but my buddies and I had a thing about flipping off the camera whenever we were in pictures. It rarely was super obvious, but enough that if someone went back and looked at it later it would be there waiting for you. Typically, the more formal event the more likely you were to find a middle finger sneaking into it. Weddings pictures, graduations, you name it.

Of course, Dad wasn’t a big fan.

“Sam, these are big events and pictures can last forever. Is that really what you want someone to think of when they find an old picture?”

Since none of us ever had cameras, it didn’t bother us much, so we kept doing it. The first year Lynn and I were together, there were 13 weddings. That had to equate to a few hundred middle finger pictures that are out there somewhere.

Much to Dad’s disappointment, the whole family would join in from time to time.

He eventually would laugh it off, but clearly not one of the times I really took his advice to heart.

Fast forward to the picture in Florence below. I was so excited I captured this candid version of a long-married couple’s love for each other without them knowing. I decided even though the trip was in April I would frame the picture and give it to them that Christmas. I did.

They opened it and smiled and said “thanks”, but Dad was laughing a little too hard. I asked him why.

“Notice anything special in the picture?”

“Yeah, it’s you and Mom, in Florence. You were looking in the right direction when I snapped it. Perfect picture.”

“Look at it again. Maybe somewhere around my right knee.”

That sly son of a bitch. Got me at my own game.

And I’m about 100% certain had the picture not come up it would have been years later when I finally found it, if I ever did.

Whether you’re spending today gathered close, remembering, resting, or simply sitting with the quiet, we’re thinking of you.

Merry Christmas from Capiches.

May the day meet you gently, wherever you are. ✨

Smell is the sense most strongly linked to memory. Because the brain’s olfactory system is closely connected to areas that handle emotion and long-term memory, a single scent can bring back vivid memories faster—and more powerfully—than words or images.

(Sharing this great read from Cleveland Clinic on why smells stick with us the way they do.)

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/smells-and-memory

When someone you love comes to mind, what shows up first?

👃 A smell
🎶 A sound
🖐️ The feel of something familiar
👀 A visual detail
💬 A phrase they always said

Some people come back to us through details—the smell of something familiar, a sound, a small habit we can still picture clearly. Those sensory moments often carry more connection than whole stories do.

What’s one small detail that brings someone to mind for you?

Capiche #20: Create Rituals

Every time we’d go out at night, Dad would look for the three stars of Orion’s belt.

He always drove a domestic car, almost always Buick, except for the one time he bought a Ford conversion van to drive to travel baseball games.

He used the same felt tip pens and wrote on the same yellow legal pads.

He wore St. Johns Bay cologne.

He shaved with Williams Shaving Soap with a brush and a cup instead of shaving cream.

He wore gold toe socks.

He dog-eared books and wrote his comments in them.

We sang the same songs on car rides.

Whenever we asked how far it was to Chicago, when we would go see our family, he’d answer the same way. “Just two turns. One to get on the expressway and one to get off”

Most of these seem mundane, and they are, but they are also rituals. Each of them a distinct memory of the past and so easy to look back on when you want to find yourself close to someone again.

Each version of billiards comes with its own rich hiistory that dates back through centuries. Check out this fascinating video that traces the game to Old English roots and even further back to Ancient Rome.

The Complete and Complex History of Pool | Billiards Through the Centuries I hope you guys enjoyed the video! Make sure to leave a like and consider subscribing to the channel!JFLOWERS CUES & CASES: https://jflowerscues.com/ref/Dupr...