HELOISE Laughter was best medicine for always cranky old patient

Dear Heloise: I loved (as usual) your column recently with suggestions from those working in the medical field. While my husband was in medical school, I worked for doctors. Yes, people were sick, and you did have to consider their health when coming in for medical attention after-hours or without appointments. They hurt -- otherwise, they wouldn't be there.
One old fellow would come in at quitting time, while I was doing the books. He was so cantankerous; his wife would apologize for him as they left. One particular afternoon, when things had been out of kilter all day, I handed him a stick of gum and, with a smile, told him, "Here, chew on this instead of me." He thought about it a moment, then burst out laughing -- a real thigh-slapper, he told me later when he brought me a bag of gum. We were to become the best of friends. A Reader, San Antonio
Well, they do say humor is the best medicine! You are right -- many times all it takes is a small, kind gesture. Heloise
Fast facts: Here are five handy ways to reuse a clean ice-cream tub:
UUse to store yarn.
UUse to hold crayons.
UPut a plant in one.
UStore camping food in one.
UStore bows and ribbons in one.
Dear Heloise: This is the time of year to clean the fireplace, and the smut and smoke are often difficult to remove from the glass doors. One day, I thought of trying oven cleaner. It worked great! Here's what I do: I take the doors off of the fireplace and lay them on old newspaper on the patio. I spray both sides heavily with oven cleaner and let them lie there for a few hours. I take the water hose, wash them off, then dry them or let the sun do the drying, clean them with glass cleaner, and they are ready to put back on the fireplace. Imogene, via e-mail
We checked with a manufacturer, and a company official said this would be just fine. Heloise
Dear Heloise: I look forward to Mondays, when your column appears in The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee.
I have always had difficulty lifting heavy loads. I buy 20-pound bags of dog food -- the same with cat litter. I recently spent $20 on a dolly. It has changed my life. I now can handle a 40-pound bag of dog food, and the same with cat litter.
I can move heavy objects now. I no longer have to rely on the chance that a neighbor will help me. I feel quite empowered -- and more self-reliant. It's the best $20 I have ever spent! Mary in Sacramento, Calif.
Mary, how right you are! Those dollies can come in really handy around the house, office, etc. Heloise
Sound off: Hello from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Many women (and seniors, both men and women) are avid gardeners. I am, too, and I struggle with gardening tools and equipment that appear to have been designed, in the past, for young men in the prime of their "musclehood."
Can you please spread the word to manufacturers that some of us need and would appreciate lighter versions of basic gardening tools? Charlotte M., Hillside Boularderie, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada
XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can't answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.
King Features Syndicate