Sunday Funnies: May 28

A re-run of my dad’s humor cards. They make me chuckle all over again – so I hope you enjoy them whether it’s the first time or second (first posted on 4/10/22).

The backstory: My dad was a Presbyterian pastor for 40 years. He kept a well curated stack of humor cards – little stories he heard, found or saw and then typed onto 5×7 cards. Then he wrote in the margins when he used that particular item. His humor was often an easy way to settle in to something deeper – by laughing and thinking about the buried truth in these little nuggets, it paved the way to an open heart.

PARABLES

DIFFICULTIES – When they first manufactured golf balls, they made the covers smooth. Then it was discovered that after a ball and been roughed up one could get more distance out of it. So they started manufacturing them with dimpled covers. So it is with life; it takes some rough spots in your life to make you go your farthest.

APRIL FOOLS – One April Fool’s Day, as Phillips Brooks was walking along Boylston St., Boston, he saw a little fellow trying in vain to reach a door bell. Brooks walked up the steps saying, “Let me help you, my little man!

He pulled the knob; the boy scampered down the steps saying, “Now run like the devil!

Source: Parables, Volume 4, No. 1, March 1984

Sunday Funnies: April 10

Another installment from my dad’s humor cards.

The backstory: My dad was a Presbyterian pastor for 40 years. He kept a well curated stack of humor cards – little stories or observations that he typed onto 5×7 cards. Then he wrote in the margins when he used that particular item. His humor was often an easy way to settle in to something deeper – by laughing and thinking about the buried truth in these little nuggets, it paved the way to an open heart.

When we cleaned out his desk after he died 7 years ago, I was lucky enough to stumble on this stack. I pull it out regularly to have a little laugh with my dear Dad. Now when I post one of them, I write my note next to his and it feels like a continuation.

PARABLES

DIFFICULTIES – When they first manufactured golf balls, they made the covers smooth. Then it was discovered that after a ball and been roughed up one could get more distance out of it. So they started manufacturing them with dimpled covers. So it is with life; it takes some rough spots in your life to make you go your farthest.

APRIL FOOLS – One April Fool’s Day, as Phillips Brooks was walking along Boylston St., Boston, he saw a little fellow trying in vain to reach a door bell. Brooks walked up the steps saying, “Let me help you, my little man!” He pulled the knob; the boy scampered down the steps saying, “Now run like the devil!”

Source: Parables, Volume 4, No. 1, March 1984

Humor: Jan 9th

In the stack of humor cards I inherited from my father, there is one he labeled “Parables.” It’s easy to see how as a Presbyterian pastor he found that these little stories could be used to both get a laugh and subtly make a point.

THE HANDICAPS OF YOUTH: Parents of two teenagers are worried about their kids’ failing eyesight. The daughter can’t find anything to wear in a closet full of clothes and the son can’t find anything good to eat in a refrigerator full of food.

POWERFUL COMMUNICATION: A woman says to her neighbor: “I have a marvelous meat loaf recipe. All I do is mention it to my husband and he says, ‘Let’s eat out.’ “

COMMUNICATION AT SUNDAY SCHOOL: A five-year-old came home from Sunday School very excited. His teacher, he reported to his parents, had told the class about the story of Adam and Eve and how Eve was created from Adam’s rib.

A few days later he told his mother, “My side hurts. I think I’m having a wife.”

SUFFERING IN SILENCE: Most people don’t mind suffering in silence as long as everyone else knows about it.