Thursday, September 15, 2016

An Old-Fashioned Conversationalist

We went out to dinner this evening with a neighborhood friend and her parents who are visiting from Colorado. Her mom and dad were lovely company, and I have to admit that I was completely charmed the two times her dad worked a joke into our conversation.

Both stories were perfectly timed, relevant to the topic, and funny. As we walked home from the restaurant it occurred to me that such a style of humor has become very old-fashioned. I have memories of my grandfather and an uncle or two weaving formal jokes into a conversation, but not too many people do that now. I never considered it before, but I think it might really be a loss.

I.

A frugal farm widow went down to the newspaper to publish her husband's obituary. "That'll be a dollar a word," the clerk informed her.

"Write: Johannsen died," she told him.

"There's a five word minimum," he replied.

She thought for a moment. "Then put: Johannsen died. Tractor for Sale."

II.

A man was driving along a country road when a cat ran in front of his car. Unable to stop in time, he hit the cat but pulled over to see if he could save it. Unfortunately, the cat was dead. Feeling guilty, he walked up the nearest driveway and knocked on the front door of the house. "Do you have a black and white cat?" he asked the woman who answered.

When she nodded, he apologized. "I'm so sorry to tell you that I hit her with my car, but I'd really like to replace her," he finished.

The woman looked at him skeptically. "How many mice can you catch?" she asked.

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