ST. LOUIS • Her only payback comes in the form of big smiles, honking car horns and drive-by fist pumps.

Erica McElrath calls herself "The Happy Lady." And by now, you may have caught her singing and dancing with her mp3 player on several city street corners.

"I don't want money," said McElrath, 40, of St. Louis. "I come out here to make people smile."

McElrath lost her full-time job in January. Since then, she has spent her days doing what she loves -- dancing in the street. Her message to people at a time of economic distress: do something that you enjoy, no matter what your circumstances.

"Life is not that bad," she said. "If you're working 40 hours a week, you should not be complaining."

McElrath graduated from Parkway Central High School and has spent the past 21 years working as a nursing assistant. She began singing and dancing publicly on her days off a few years ago to help her through the pain of her second divorce.