THE HAPPIEST MAN IN AMERICA: TALL; KOSHER; RICH; AND CHINESE!?

The New York Times asked Gallup to come up with a statistical composite for the happiest person in America, based on the characteristics that most closely correlated with happiness in 2010. Men, for example, tend to be happier than women, older people are happier than middle-aged people, and so on.

Gallup’s answer: he’s a tall, Asian-American, observant Jew who is at least 65 and married, has children, lives in Hawaii, runs his own business and has a household income of more than $120,000 a year. A few phone calls later and ...

Meet Alvin Wong. He is a 5-foot-10, 69-year-old, Chinese-American, Kosher-observing Jew, who’s married with children and lives in Honolulu. He runs his own health care management business and earns more than $120,000 a year.

Reached by phone at his home on Friday (and referred to The Times by a local synagogue), Mr. Wong said that he was indeed a very happy person.

YOU CAN'T CHOOSE TO BE CHINESE OR TALL OR RICH. ALL WHO LIVE GET OLDER.

WE CAN ALL MOVE TO HAWAII - IF WE CAN AFFORD TO AND IF WE CAN FIND A JOB AND AN AFFORDABLE PLACE TO LIVE.

THAT MEANS, OF ALL THE INTRINSIC CHARACTERISTICS THAT CORRELATE WITH BEING HAPPY, THE ONLY ONE YOU CAN CHOOSE IS BEING JEWISH.

AND YOU CAN DO IT ANYWHERE, AND IT DOESN'T COST THAT MUCH.

JUST SAYING...