Poolside From PS

Five Good Things: February 2026

The other day I was watching Pollyanna. Now, don’t laugh, if you’re ever having a bad day, I dare you to sit through this tale of a (spoiler alert) young girl who finds something good in becoming crippled.

Anyway, in the film, Pollyanna plays a little game whenever things get tough – The Glad Game – where she challenges someone, anyone, to come up with something positive in a hopeless situation.

… Are you getting the picture?

Flash forward to Sunday morning. I’m at the gym. There is a young man clapping and making noises on the weight floor where I’m benching. I begin to realize he has some sort of neurodivergent thing going on. During a break in my set, mister clapper walks up and sticks his clenched hand out for a fist bump.

Which I gladly return.

All of a sudden, my perspective on the whole morning changed. I looked over and his beaming smile met mine. I continued watching as he walked around the weight floor fist bumping and shaking hands with anyone in his path.

Same reaction from all – big, bright smiles.

Now, I have to admit I go to the gayest gym on the west coast and perhaps all these men could relate to mister clapper. I mean, as gays we know how it feels to be ostracized or looked upon unfavorably. I think that’s why we embraced him so gladly.

Which leads me to the point of this column. I challenge us to come up with five good things a day. They don’t have to be grandiose life-changing events, but there is often some good to be found in little things. As I experienced at the gym, they can have a profound effect on your well-being.

My number one today is mister fist-bumper. Here are the rest.

2) I’m walking my dog as an elderly neighbor comes out in her bath robe to collect the paper. As I see she is much older, I bend over, pick up her paper and hand it to her. She smiles and then leans over to warmly pet my dog. “Such a sweet boy,” she smiles.

3) I’m riding my bike in north Palm Springs. I look out to the Santa Rosa mountains which are teeming with fresh vegetation from the recent rains. I remind myself again how lucky I am to wake to these mountains every day.

4) I’m rapturously reading “House of Seven Gables.” This 19^th century classic is like diving into a box of See’s Candies. It is so rich, creamy and delicious that my brain is savoring every delicately plotted word.

5) I picked up the piano a year and a half ago after not playing for 50 years. The last pieces I had been working on at that time were from the Sonata Album for the Piano, comprised of sonatas from the greatest composers. I am pleased to share that I recently found that manuscript and have been able to once again get through the very complicated pieces. Granted, I’m not ready for Carnegie Hall, but the fact that my aging brain and fingers can still coordinate in unison, is beyond a good thing.

And, now for my bonus good thing. I was inspired enough to write this column. Not gonna lie, as of late, some days have been more than a little challenging as we have entered into severely turbulent and crazy airspace, so the fact that I can even conjure a good thing or two is a very good thing indeed.

So, I ask, what are your five good things?

And, with that, I end this as Poolside from PS.