I’m pretty sure it was a male who posted it. It was a masculine name on the notice — David. Even though I always thought I had a masculine name, I found out that Merrill is a girl’s name as well. According to my curiosity research at namemeaning.com, in the year of my birth (1952) there were 162 Merrill boy names given (per Social Security records). That same year, there were 49 Merrill girl names given.

In 2018, there were eight boys and six girls. Latest results show that Merrill is the 13,325th most popular name. Pretty impressive, eh? (You may want to look up your own name for fun and games, like I did mine.) But, as usual, I digress.

So, back to the posted notice by a person unknown to me named David. Here’s how most of it read: “Free Yard Work — I want to see people love one another with their actions rather than their words. If you would like an hour of free labor, contact David …. Pulling weeds, moving heavy stuff, etc. I’m very busy, just like you, but I will do my best to lend a hand. LOVE IS THE ANSWER.”

When I saw the “Love is the answer” part, I wondered, “Then, what is the question?” I reasoned that the assumption is that love should be at least a part of all aspects of our lives and that it should be integral in answering all of life’s big questions.

Within 24 hours of seeing that posted notice, my wife and I were in Beck’s Home Furnishings in Mt. Pleasant. I had finally agreed, after years of subtle (and broad) hints, that it was time for us to shop for a king-sized bed. We have birthdays (birthday anniversaries, I should say) within a week of each other, so we were on a “quid pro quo” agreement that a new bed was a good idea for a birthday present to each other.

I have resisted the king-sized bed idea in the past on the grounds that I only use “this much of the edge of the bed” (holding my hands up indicating an underestimated length of about a foot and a half). That joke was wearing thin.

The sales person left us alone in the upstairs mattress gallery to do our “testing.” I was getting very drowsy by the time I had stretched out on eight or 10 beds.

To tell the truth, they all felt great to me — except for the one that felt like lying on a concrete floor with a puffy sheet under me. Some people like extra-firm mattresses. And some people can sleep on a bed of nails. I don’t fit in either of those categories. Long story short, we bought a bed and I’m happy about it.

I’ve digressed again. Here’s what I meant to say a couple of paragraphs ago. In Beck’s, there was a home décor sign on the wall that read: “You need just three things for a Happy Life: Something to do. Someone to love. And something to look forward to.”

I homed in on the “love message” in the sign since I had just seen the “love is the answer” concept on the little poster earlier. When I read that sign in Beck’s, I felt like I was happy.

I had plenty to do — too much most days. I had someone to love — especially my “let’s get a new bed motivator wife,” and my family and friends otherwise — not to mention the people of Sanpete generally.

And, I had something to look forward to. The bed will be delivered soon. I don’t have to haul it in or set it up. Woo hoo! What’s not to be happy about?

I know, I know. We’re living in crazy times right now. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like these can be “happy times” or “times of love.” I admit, it’s hard to keep optimistic about life. Many of us are having “quarantine fatigue.” We’re tired of it all.

I’m hoping that we’re learning something that will be helpful to us as a society. I’m hoping that in spite of the hard times on so many fronts, we’re somehow learning that love needs to increase and be a genuine part of who we are. I think it can be, if we let it be.

Paul McCartney of The Beatles wrote and sang “Let it Be.” I feel like we need to catch some meaning from the lyrics: “When the broken-hearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be.”

Love can, and should be, that answer. Love, when mixed with all the other good attributes of humanity — like kindness, respect, empathy and proper acceptance and tolerance — is a powerful and magical force. I’d call it the “Mr. Rogers effect.”

A shallow way to look at things? Perhaps. Ethereal and unattainable? Maybe. But nothing else seems to be working.

P.S. An old woman once said, “Had I known I was going to live this long, I would have bought a new mattress.”