Dear Variety Friends:

Now, more than ever, we’re all trying to create smiles for those around us. Small moments of levity in the midst of a stressful and anxious period. I’m sure many of you have watched our Jokes with Jacob smile series on social media (if you haven’t, go give yourself a laugh here).

His jokes and humor have truly brought a smile to my face, and his efforts inspired me to do more in my own neighborhood.

My wife, Terese and I put on Halloween costumes over the weekend, and we took a stroll around our neighborhood in the hopes of making others smile. We got a lot of people staring and double-taking what they were seeing, but it was the reactions from the kids that made it most meaningful.

• Two 4-year old girls came running towards us from their cul-de-sac, screaming with joy, “Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head!!” Then, very seriously, the two girls told us, “We are superheroes. We’re protecting the neighborhood.”
• Another young boy, age 5 was stunned by what he was seeing, and his mom asked him with a smile, “Did you know Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head lived in our neighborhood?”

I also sent this photo of Terese and me to Jacob, so that he knew that his jokes were inspiring us to share the smiles. Here’s a photo of him reacting to our costumes, saying, “You are CUCKOO!”

Let’s all keep smiling, together.

Take good care,

Charlie

Charles P. LaVallee
Chief “Excitement” Officer
Variety – the Children’s Charity