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 by
Nikki Artale
nikkiartale@cox.net
(702) 279-7001
Mr.
Happiness
The happiest corner in the world is the corner of Fort Apache and Sahara
in Las Vegas Nevada according to Larry Johnson, famously known as “Mr.
Happiness”. His mission is to bring happiness, smiles and laughter to
everyone that passes by.
You will find Mr. Happiness on the corner 7 days a week from 10am to 6pm
waving, dancing and blowing kisses to everyone. His outfits are
outrageous and that alone brings a smile to your face. At first glance
you might think there is an inmate loose on the street because who would
be dancing and singing all alone on a corner. Missing is the music. So
it makes you wonder what he is doing. He really needs music, but he said
his budget doesn’t allow him to buy music equipment. I suggest that
someone with a generous heart should bring him a boombox or a radio or a
CD system so he can fully entertain all of us.
Everyone enjoys watching him, even young children passing by. His
purpose in life is to make people happy. He sure makes me happy. I found
Mr. Happiness to be funny, humorous and so very interesting to talk to.
I was smiling the entire time I spent with him on his happy corner.
People drove by and waved and honked their horns and they were smiling.
Some of his favorite people even brought him coffee. I hope it was
Starbucks because that would surely bring a smile to my face and make me
happy.
Larry has been performing since he was 3 years old when he danced with
his uncle as a street performer. His grandfather was a minister and his
grandmother, who read the bible everyday kept him on a straight and
narrow path and told him to always be the best he can. She told him that
whatever you throw out will come back to you. So he throws out love and
joy. He gives praise to his stepfather Norman Johnson who raised him and
gave him love. Larry calls himself a little black gypsy and king of the
streets. He works with Chopper who is king of cars, and he said they go
hand in hand.
Larry had a very troubled youth and he attributes his learning and
becoming a man to his 20 years of service in the U.S. Army where he
learned to read and write. Larry has been married to Sharon for 32
years, and I’m sure he has brought her lots of smiles and love. Someone
who loves him unconditionally and who is very proud of him is his
granddaughter Aniyah.
Sharon and Aniyah sat in the studio while we interviewed him. You could
see how proud they were of him. They talked about a youth center they
would love to have built. They have a foundation called “Go For It” and
it would be a learning and activity center for all children.
Mr. Happiness recalled the time Mayor Oscar Goodman came on the happy
corner and danced with him. Money was raised for the “Make A Wish
Foundation”. Now he would like to invite Wayne Newton to come and sing
and dance on the corner so they can raise more money. What a sight that
would be to see Wayne Newton dancing on the corner. It probably would
create a traffic jam, but one thing for sure; it would create a lot of
happiness. That is what Larry Johnson is all about. Actually isn’t that
what we all are about too.
Nikki Artale and Mr. Happiness (Larry Johnson)
Larry told us about the day that Sylvester Stallone came to see him on
the corner and gave him $1,000 and that sure made him happy .
Larry Johnson Jr. will be on All Talk Radio with his dad on Nov. 19th.
Listen in, because there will be so much love and happiness in the room.
Warriors of the Mystic Moon
This was the first book that Sally Laughlin wrote in the 1980’s and has
since wrote many more books. Sally was a police officer at a time when
female officers were rare so when the dispatcher had an injury she had
to replace her. Sally wasn’t happy about that but one of the police
officers brought her a book to read about a Hobbit to pass the time
away. She loved it and that is how she started to write. Her daughter
and son in law encouraged her to print her writings.
www.mysticmoonwarriors.com
The book is about police officers who get taken into another dimension,
a magical world.
I don’t want to give the plot away so you can go on the web site to
order the book and enjoy reading it. I found Sally to be very passionate
about her work and I liked how she empowered the women. Her book is full
of excitement and adventure. Her readers range in age from 10 years old
to 95 years.
The
Innocence and Wisdom of Youth—Michelle Nicole
 In our lives perhaps the best friend and worst enemy we often have is
time. For the young, time has such a different meaning than to the
experienced. They have so much of it at their disposal and yet they fail
to see how precious and useful it can really be...and how much of that
it will especially be once they too get older. Time can heal a broken
heart, it can put perspective and meaning into a seemingly bleak life.
Quite unfortunately, it is often taken another way, as an enemy.
Naturally it would to people who want most what it has taken from them.
It is true that with enough of it, you will age and the bountiful gifts
of youth and life will slip away...but so many of us hold this against
time without really seeing and acknowledging what it has done for us.
There is a positive and negative side to everything, even time.
I have a tendency to look upon time as a great enemy and I always have.
But this is because of what I want so dearly, to be a child again.
Reminiscing of a time so loved of mine makes me curse time and puts such
stress on my mind. In denial, I keep thinking back to my young age and,
though inside I know this to be very false, I think I can go back with
enough desire. At the very least I know that as long as I continue to
remember every memory and all the love and innocence I encompassed and
experienced, it may give me some insight and respect for the life I do
live now. I need to remember that though time has taken away my
childhood and the family life I remember, it will one day give me peace,
it will one day have my respect and perhaps even one day it will heal me
completely.
www.myspace.com/michellenicole
If you would like to listen to the above show go to
www.alltalkradio.net/celebritynews and scroll down to Show
Archives and click on 10/22/07. While you are on our web site listen to
all the other shows in the archives. If you have any questions or
comments contact Nikki Artale at
nikkiartale@cox.net or call her at 702 279-7001.
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