Bad day.  Write me a nice short story to cheer me up.  It can be about
anything you like, but if you need some ideas take a look at my
interests in Question 71732.

Hello michael2-ga,

A Man of Good Cheer

"Bad day," wrote Michael.  He was sitting at his computer, typing a
question for Google Answers.  Perhaps, he thought, someone out there
could cheer him up.

Michael had tried everything to cheer himself up.  He listened to
vibrant passages from Handel's Water Music.  When that failed, he
switched on the telly ... war in Iraq, Big Brother ... nothing to
smile about.  He re-read a happy ending from Jane Austen ... still no
solace.

There was always the Net.  There must be some happiness to be found
there.

He searched for "happy" on Google -- and there it was, 24,600,000
web-pages-worth of happy.  The first result was for a site called
"Happy Puppy".  Michael clicked the link, and saw a site with many
games, but mostly war games.  Not too happy, really.

The next site advertised a "Happy Christmas".  But Christmas was nine
months away, and that was not a happy thought either.

Michael sighed, and then surfed to his favourite site, Google Answers.
 Recent questions about "etherkiller", "predators" ... he'd pass on
looking at those.  One question was entitled "Getting rid of cobwebs"
... now that was a good metaphor, he thought.  "I have to clean out
the cobwebs, shake things up, do something different."

But how?  What could he do on a Wednesday evening?  He had a routine
after work on weekdays: go home, make dinner, relax, and sleep. 
People establish routines, because it makes life easier -- what could
he do that was different within his comfortable routine?

He decided he needed to ask the smart people over at Google Answers. 
"Bad day," he typed.  But then what?

His mind flashed back to one of his first questions, where he
enquired, "What is the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the
Universe, and Everything?"  He did not want to ask something so grand
this time ... rather, something creative, something new.

That was it: he would ask for something new, for something to be
created in the world.  Something that would not exist, had he lacked
the inspiration to ask for it.  A new and unique combination of words,
that would stimulate his mind.

He continued typing: "Write me a nice short story to cheer me up."

Michael submitted the question -- a request, really -- and waited
impatiently, but excitedly, for an answer.  He was feeling better
already.  Impatience was not the best feeling, but it was better than
feeling bad.  It gave him something to do; he had a specific thing to
look forward to that evening.

After an hour or so, the answer -- the short story -- appeared.  He
read it through.  The story was not about something fanciful or silly.
 It was about a man named Michael, who had had a bad day and decided
to ask for a short story to cheer him up.  After the story, the writer
added a note: "You made me smile by asking this question.  Thank you."

How odd -- he had wanted to cheer himself up, and now he had given
cheer to someone else.  That made him smile, too.

He would relax, sleep, and be happy.

- justaskscott-ga [ :-) thanks ]

Cheery.  Thanks.