A Song I Really Like for Some Reason
A Blue State Red State Metaphor
Open Road Submission from a Friend
Open Road from the Usual Place
And, as always, more here.
The Layers are Deep . . .
Jokes I Like to Tell
One day in the late 1950’s, a young boy named Jose, who lived in the Dominican Republic, won a contest. He was an ardent baseball fan, and on a whim he had entered the contest that was advertised in a pack of baseball cards that he had bought. These were the kind of cards that were sold the way cards used to be sold—together with flat pieces of gum. And inside the pack was a slip of paper that outlined the terms of the contest.
The winner of the contest would win an all-expenses paid trip to a major league game at the ball park of that fan’s favorite baseball team. Well, Jose entered that contest, and much to his stupefaction, he actually won the contest. His name was drawn in the great drawing, and he won the contest.
And the entire trip was marvelous. The bubble gum company that sponsored the contest sent someone down to the Dominion Republic to escort Jose the entire trip, to serve as his tour guide and interpreter, and he did a marvelous job. They arrived at the ball park an hour before the big game, and Jose was given a tour of the whole park, and was even taken into the locker room where he was able to shake hands with some of his heroes. Then his guide took him up to the VIP sky box, right next to where the giant American flag was hanging down, and Jose was overjoyed to see that the sky box was stocked with all the concessions he could possibly eat—hot dogs, popcorn, the works. He had a glorious afternoon, and to top everything off his team won in a close game that came down to the last pitch. His adrenaline levels were up over his ears. He was as high as a kite when he went to bed that night in a posh hotel.
When he got back home, he recounted his adventures over and over to his friends. Finally, his mother asked him, “Jose, what was the most impressive thing you saw there?”
Jose furrowed his brow and thought for a moment. “Mama,” he finally said, “that’s a hard one, because it was all so wonderful. But I think I have to say that the thing that impressed me the most was how friendly the Americans all were.”
“Really!” his father said. “Why would you say that?”
“Well, papa, this will give you some idea. Right when I took my seat, as I was sitting in the most wonderful seat in the whole place, the whole stadium stood up, looked straight at me, and they all sang to me. And the song was, ‘Jose, can you see?’”
Maybe the Day Will Improve After Lunch
A Book of Wedding Homilies
Bone of My Bones
This is a collection of some of my wedding homilies. The second volume is called Flesh of My Flesh, also available here.
Re Scooby-Doo: the Tasmanians are not amused.
“Jose can you see?” 😄