Researchers tell us that only 10 percent of human laughter is a response to jokes or humor. They say laughter is about relationships. It’s like a coded message we send to each other that helps us build trust and come together in meaningful relationships. It’s social glue. It must be true, because laughter brought Carol into my life.

I was trudging to my car in 90-degree-plus summertime heat, feeling the weight of an LCD projector in one hand and laptop computer in the other. Perspiration was streaming down my back and my laughter leader t-shirt was clinging to my body like I was getting ready to compete in a wet t-shirt contest. With each step, I was anticipating the delicious relief my car air conditioner was about to deliver. That’s when Carol walked into my life.

“Hi,” she hailed from across the parking lot, “Are you the laughter class instructor?”

I put down my bags and turned to face her. “Yes, I am.” I smiled and waited as she came towards me in languid motion. It was just too hot to hurry.

“I heard your class today. I’m on the other side of the conference room wall. My favorite laugh is the Aloha laugh.”

She burst into a perfect Aloha laugh. I joined in. There we stood, in the middle of a sea of hot asphalt, laughing out loud. Then we paused, and our eyes met.

“I try to laugh a lot these days and I try to be grateful too,” she said. “My husband and I moved here from New Orleans after Katrina. My daughter was going to school here. I don’t know if we’ll be able to go back.”

It was like a flood wall opened up. For the next 30 minutes I became Carol’s confidant in an amazing story of overcoming tragedy. I didn’t even notice the heat.

I learned that Carol was native to New Orleans. That the flood waters didn’t destroy her home, but a recent fire did. Her mother’s home was destroyed by the flood.

But there were blessings …

She told me how she found a bundle of her parent’s love letters, carefully tied together with a ribbon and stored on the very top shelf of a cabinet in her mother’s kitchen. The flood waters stopped just inches below the shelf. The love letters were rescued, and her mother’s good china, too.

Carol told me how she missed the food of New Orleans; how excited she was to discover filé in a local supermarket, after searching for weeks; and how challenging it was to find fresh shrimp with the heads on. “If you’re going to make a stock, you have to have the heads on. I can’t find ’em anyplace, but I think I have a lead on a place not far from here.” She spoke in a tone of high optimism, reflecting the power of the human spirit to overcome suffering and loss.

Our exchange continued for several more minutes. Then, as if a timer went off, Carol said she probably needed to head for home. We gave each other a big hug and signed off with “Aloha-ha-ha.”

That day, while standing in a parking oblivious to the blistering heat of summer, I learned that laughter has a power to shape our lives. It brings us together and gives us permission to share with one another what’s in our hearts.

Researchers tell us an important health consideration is laughter doesn’t have any obvious downside. I believe ’em. Laughter brought Carol into my life.

So, C’mon, Let’s Laugh!