Who needs research?

In Sunday’s Philadelphia Inquirer, philosophy professor Crispin Sartwell’s article on “New Happiness” got me thinking. He claims that happiness is “the ultimate human purpose,” especially in tough economic times like now.
No kidding.
And he cites all sorts of evidence from Aristotle, to beer commercials, to the ever-burgeoning shelves of “guide-to-happiness” books. Who needs research? Doesn’t everyone realize that we’re always looking for happiness, and that it’s available in all the simple pleasures, like love, virtue, a good career, and a good dog?
Sartwell should have asked me; l’d have given him a copy of On Deck magazine where he’d see page after page of opportunities to get happy.
For some, it’s opening their own business…say, making Philly soft pretzels. (Eating them makes me happy.) Senior Columnist Jim Vanore has the story. (Watch Vanore twisting a few on video at CapeMayCountyHerald.com.)
For others, happiness is catching the winning striper. See Carolyn Miller’s “The Fishing Line” and check out the photos of smiling fishers.
Some people love arts and crafts. Maureen Cawley tells about the best local show coming to Stone Harbor this week.
And baby parades have been spreading joy for a century. Cawley writes about one of the oldest.
Now, in the interest of science, Vanore is doing his own research by compiling a “best of” list. Tell him what amusement park ride or chocolate martini makes you happy, and he’ll tally the results for our Labor Day issue. Then we’ll know all the best spots in the county.
Now, that’s useful research.