Tonight is our first chance for frost on the pumpkins with temperatures predicted to fall as low as 32 degrees in North Mississippi. Rebel, Lucky Dawg and I will be reading by the fire tonight! They read comic books; I read more serious stuff.

Today is National Cranky Co-worker Day. Yes, they have their own day.

Every workplace has a crank or two, and you know who they are. They’re the workers who complain about everything: the workload, the boss, the clients, the benefits package, the office furniture, the cafeteria food, the bathrooms and the building temperature. They even complain when they get a raise, because it wasn’t big enough. Bleh. They’re just no fun to be around or work with, are they?

So what should you and I, the cheerful, uncomplaining, look-on-the-bright-side types, do about these nattering nabobs of negativity in honor of National Cranky Coworker Day? Here are a few ideas:

• Ask How You Can Help: It can’t hurt to say something like this: “You don’t seem very happy lately, but we are working on this project together. Is there anything I can do to help cheer you up to make sure we stay focused on meeting our deadline?”
• Invite Them to Lunch Away from the Office: When you get to know your cranky colleagues a little better outside of your physical workplace, you may just find out they aren’t as down in the dumps as you think. In fact, they might even be courteous and pleasant!
• Buy Them Chocolate: This sweet treat never fails to brighten someone’s day. One option: Seattle-based Emily’s Chocolates (betcha a buck I was named for her) offers packages of fortune cookies with friendly messages. Give them to your curmudgeonly coworkers, and you’ll surely put a smile on their faces — even if it is just for a day.

If all these steps fail, simply ignore them. If chocolate doesn’t help, nothing can make them happy. Now go out and have a great day!