Still Working and Witless

Attention, all inmates!! The “Pilates for Lifers” class will now hold its annual leotard swap in Cell Block Three!
Not you, Bubba. Put down that Mensa application and wrap your little brain around this. Jane leaves Boston at 6:14 AM Pacific Standard Time and travels for nine hours on a train—an old Amtrak with itchy wool seats—speeding 85 mph against a 37 mph wind. At exactly 10:02 Hong Kong time, Ann buys a twelve-pack of Twinkies, sucks the filling out of four, and gives the rest to David, who is taller than Jane but older than Ann. Continue reading

Daddy’s Little Girl

You’re the end of the rainbow, my pot of gold;
You’re daddy’s little girl to have and hold.
A precious gem is what you are;
You’re mommy’s bright and shining star.

You’re the spirit of Christmas, my star on the tree;
You’re the Easter Bunny to mommy and me.
You’re sugar and spice, and you’re everything nice
’Cause you’re daddy’s little girl.
—Bobby Burke & Horace Gerlach, 1949

My father crooned that old song to me any time I asked it of him—it made no difference if I was four, fourteen, or forty. In his mind, I would always be his little girl. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
There’s nothing quite like being daddy’s little girl. I learned that from my mother. I lived it in my own life. I see it in my daughter.
It’s more than feeling like an irreplaceable princess. It’s more than feeling like the center of the universe—even if only to one person.
It’s not an honor reserved for the eldest daughter or the youngest daughter or the only daughter. It’s a distinction for all daughters—the mark on the heart of a father the first time he looks at his little girl. From that moment on, he wants to make sure she knows how special she is, how worthy of great love and respect, of tenderness and care. It leaves him imprisoned, and he loves every minute of his sentence.
He might show her by exercising great patience as he tries to relax after a hard day’s work, but she throws aside his newspaper so she can climb upon his lap and settle in for a conversation.
He might show her by teaching her how to mow the lawn so that she might learn what it is to work and contribute, and feel the satisfaction of a job well done.
He might show her by praising her first attempts behind the wheel of his car, silently giving thanks that his insurance is up to date, and his ulcer medication is in the cabinet.
He might show her by making sure she has a hammer, screwdrivers, wrenches, and a level for her first apartment.
He might show her by sharing a bag of popcorn and a bottle of beer after eighteen holes of golf, secretly thrilled she’s still happy to spend time with him now that she’s all grown up.
He might show her by poring over the crossword puzzle together, using the thesaurus she’s just given him for Christmas.
He might show her by loaning her the money for her first car, insisting she “pay it back whenever she can.”
He might show her by making sure she has a shovel for the trunk of that car, lest she get stuck in the snow of a fierce Midwestern winter.
He might show her by offering his shoulder to cry on, arms of encouragement, and the promise that life is worth living—and never to be feared.
He might show her by blinking back the tears as she rounds the corner in her wedding gown, by holding a quivering lip as he walks her down the aisle to give her away to another man, or by beaming as he waltzes with her at the reception—for which he happily pays.
Demonstrative in nature or not, there are a million and one ways he might show her how much he loves her. If she’s paying attention, she will never doubt her worth in this world.
The memory of what a father gives to his daughter over the years never diminishes, never grows cold.
At eighty-four, my mother’s eyes still glisten when she remembers that her father was the only one who called her Margaux, and that he loved it when she wore her hair with bangs.
At fifty, my sister and I can still hear Dad’s baritone when we sing Christmas carols together and remember how much he and Mom loved to listen to us sing ourselves to sleep at night.
And at eleven, my daughter’s smile lights up the room when she sees her father coming in the door.
Truly, there really is NOTHING like being daddy’s little girl.
In Memoriam
Earl Francis Droessler
April 5, 1919–December 30, 2006
* * *
Denise Aisling is an independent bond trader who enjoyed ice skating and golf until stricken with Forty-itis. Now she’s working on sainthood as a church choir member and grammar-school volunteer, but her application is still pending. You can contact her at denise.aisling@gmail.com.

Foolish Jr Jokes June 2010

Q: What do you call cheese that’s not yours?
A: Nacho cheese.

Q: What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t come back?
A: A stick.

Q: What is more amazing than a talking dog?
A: A spelling bee.

Q: Why did the clock in the cafeteria run slow?
A: Every lunch it went back for seconds.

Q: What gets wetter the more it dries?
A: A towel.

Fool Laughs June 2010

The best jokes money can buy. (We PAID for these?!? —Ed.)

Twins

A census taker in a rural area of Kentucky went up to a camphouse and knocked. When a woman came to the door, he asked her how many children she had and their ages. She said, “Le’s see now, there’s the twins, Sally and Billy. They’re thirty-two. And the twins. Seth and Beth. They’re twenty-six. And the twins, Penny and Jenny. They’re twenty-four.”
“Hold on!” said the census taker, “Did you get twins EVERY time?”
The woman answered, “Heck no, there were hundreds of times we didn’t get nothin’.”

Physical

Morris, an 82-year-old man, went to the doctor in Boca Raton to get a physical. A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm.
A couple of days later the doctor spoke to Morris and said, “You’re really doing great, aren’t you?”
“Just doing what you said, Doc: ‘Get a hot mamma’ and ‘be cheerful,’” Morris replied.
To which the doctor said, “I didn’t say that, Morris. I said, ‘You’ve got a heart murmur, be careful.’”

The Silent Treatment
A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment.
Suddenly the man realized that the next day he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early-morning business flight.
Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, “Please wake me at 5:00 AM.” He left it where he knew she would find it.
The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn’t wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed.
The paper said, “It is 5:00 AM. Wake up.”
Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

Going Postal

by Ted Gargiulo
Did you know that the famous Czech composer Antonín Dvo?ák was the first man to ship himself across the United States in a parcel?
It seems he couldn’t afford the train fare from his summer place in Spilleville, Iowa, to New York City, where he was scheduled to begin rehearsals for the premiere of his New World Symphony. That did not, however, deter the composer, who was nothing if not resourceful. He figured a package had to travel cheaper than a person. Right? So, he constructed a specially padded crate, large enough for him to fit inside, then had his friends seal him up and carry him to the local post office. From there, he was addressed, stamped, and dispatched to New York via Parcel Post.
As luck would have it, the train developed a mechanical problem in Cleveland, and the shipment was delayed a couple of days.
Meanwhile, back in New York, the concert date was drawing closer, and Dvo?ák was nowhere to be found. His business agent began to worry. “Where is Antonín?” he asked the composer’s wife, who had stayed behind that summer. “I demand to know why your husband is not here. If he does not show by tomorrow, I will be forced to cancel the concert and sue him for breach of contract!”
Mrs. Dvo?ák, who knew of her husband’s alternate travel plans, wasn’t the least bit concerned. “Don’t vorry,” she calmly replied. “Der Czech is in der mail.”
* * *
Ted Gargiulo’s stories and essays have appeared in The San Jose Mercury News, The Monterey County Herald, Wilde Times, The Gamut, and The Fringe. Born in New York City, the former stage actor and prize-winning author now lives with his wife in Seaside, California. Ted is currently working on a collection of short stories. He In Me, available from PublishAmerica, is his first published novel.

Classic Pick: Again and Again

Everybody has their little pet peeve. But I’ve never heard of anyone who has mine: having to do everything AGAIN.
Every day, without exception, I do something, and think that I have accomplished it and put it behind me, that I can move on with my life, when I discover that I have to do it AGAIN.
Take yesterday. I had to fax a form to a client. Simple enough. So I faxed it and thought that was the end of it. Not so. I got a phone call this morning asking why I hadn’t faxed the form. I did fax it, I said. We didn’t get it, they said. So guess what I had to do? I had to fax that form AGAIN.
The other day, I called about a problem with my telephone bill. It was one of those automatic systems that required me to type in my phone number to identify myself. I did. Then a live person came on the line. What do you think he said? He said, “May I have your phone number?” Why did I just type it in the first time? I asked. I have no idea, he said. Neither did I, so I gave him my phone number AGAIN.
This morning I tried to print something on my printer. Paper jam. So I had to reload and try to print it AGAIN.
It sounds minor, but these repetitive actions really add up. And they happen all year long.
I go to the tax guy to get my taxes done. But they’re complicated, and an hour goes by, and he says, “I’m sorry, I have another appointment.” So I have to reschedule. I have to come back AGAIN.
I take my car to the mechanic because it’s making a strange sound. He does some things, the sound goes away. A few days later the sound is back. So I have to take the car back AGAIN.
It just goes on and on.
I shop online. I loaded my “shopping cart” and tried to check out. It asked for my email address. I typed it in, but it said I was not in the system. Guess what? I had to register AGAIN. Then the order I had just placed had vanished, so I had to reload my shopping cart AGAIN.
It gets to driving you crazy. Every little thing. The cat threw up this morning. I cleaned it up. I come home from work, he’s thrown up AGAIN. So I clean it up AGAIN.
I call my grandfather. He’s hard of hearing. Everything I say, he says “Huh?” So I have to say it AGAIN.
I washed my car the other day. Then I get behind some dirt-hauling truck and when I get home, the car is filthy. Guess what I will have to do AGAIN?
I go to the service station to get gas. They don’t trust anybody, so they make you pay first. (Nice customer service there.) I want to fill it up, but I don’t know how much it’s going to cost, because I’m not Nostradamus. So the guy says, “Give me twenty dollars, and I’ll give you change after you pump the gas.” That’s wonderful. Except now, after I pump the gas, I have walk back to the store AGAIN and wait in line AGAIN to get the change I should have only had to stand in line for once.
When you do everything twice, your full day ends up being half a day. Will my life end up being half a life?
Some of it, I admit, is my own fault. I go to the bank to cash a check. But I forget to bring the check. So I have to go home and get it and come back AGAIN.
I go to the supermarket and realize, halfway home, that I forgot to buy milk. So I have to go to the grocery store AGAIN. The cashier scans my milk. Nothing happens, so she scans it AGAIN. Still nothing. She scans it AGAIN. Finally it registers, but I realize that I seem to be a carrier of this AGAIN and AGAIN disease.
I turn on the television to watch my favorite sitcom. But it’s an “encore presentation.” Watch it AGAIN, they’re telling me.
Are you following me here? Is it too complicated an idea, or will I have to repeat everything AGAIN?
At my job I was finishing up a long and tedious data entry file, when the computer died. Guess what? I had to enter all that information AGAIN.
I go through the drive-thru to get my burger and fries, and halfway down the road I discover they’ve forgotten the fries. So I have to go back and ask for them AGAIN.
It even happens with simple stuff. Stuff you don’t even think about. I check the mailbox. But the mailman hasn’t come yet, so I will of course have to check it AGAIN.
I try, from two steps away, to throw something into the garbage can. But I miss and have to go over and pick it up and throw it away AGAIN.
I’m taking a class at the local college. I go to the bookstore to buy the books, but they haven’t come in yet. So guess what I’m going to have to do? I’m going to drive back to the bookstore AGAIN to try to buy those books AGAIN.
I went to the store on Halloween night, to buy candy for the kids. But we ended up running out, so I had to go to the store AGAIN on Halloween night to buy candy for the kids AGAIN.
You start thinking about all the stuff in your life you have to do over and over. Sleep. Eat. Pay the same bills over and over AGAIN. Brush your teeth, cut your hair, trim your fingernails. AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN.
I got married when I was twenty. Then I got a divorce. Guess what? I even had to get married AGAIN.
Finally I thought, Gee, this would make a good article. I should write all this stuff down. So I wrote it all down, but I lost the notes, so I had to write it all down AGAIN. Then time passed, and I had to keep doing things over and over AGAIN, and I thought, Gee, this would make a good article. I should write all this stuff down.
So I wrote it down AGAIN, and sent it to The Fool. But they said they never got it, so I had to send it AGAIN.
Then the dingbat editor said he received it, but misplaced it, so I had to send it AGAIN.
With my luck, I’ll be reincarnated as myself. Déjà vu, all over AGAIN.