Nature Takes Its Course

There are one-time jokes, and then there are jokes that last a lifetime. This is one of the jokes that makes the rounds in our family:

A salesman was driving down the road, and suddenly realized he had to use the bathroom. So, he pulled over at a field and did his business into a patch of buttercups. Mother Nature ran out of the nearby woods, screaming at him, "You nasty boy! Why did you do that on my sweet buttercups! Just for that, you won't have any butter for a year!" The man was very sorry, and apologized profusely. Eventually, she left, and he returned to his car with a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "Man, I'm glad it wasn't pussywillow."

It's one of those dirty little jokes that's usually safe to say around children, because they have no idea why the joke is funny. When a child is six, however, they tend to repeat everything they hear, when they aren't trying to pretend that they can't hear you. So, one of the children was always trying to repeat this joke, but was never successful. It was fun to listen to the new direction the joke took every time he started it.

One Easter Sunday, when everyone was gathered at the table, the usual range of jokes began. He piped up with this joke, and to our horror, this was the one time he ever had gotten it right. Not only was he successful, it had turned into one of those magical moments when everybody becomes silent, seemingly just for the most embarassing thing to be said very loudly. His parents turned bright red, as everyone looked around, wondering what they were supposed to do, when his uncle burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that tears were streaming down his face.

And dinner resumed as usual.