When you were a kid, did you love to tell and hear other people tell jokes? When I was at the tender age of "elementary school kid" I had a joke that would send me into hysterics every time I told it. It involved an American, a Mexican, a burrito, a bomb, someone farting and a house blowing up. (HilARious!) That was back in the day where jokes were usually racist, potty-humored, or both. Anyway, the worst jokes, in my opinion (and I'm excluding puns here because they don't deserve any reference to hilarity) are knock knock jokes. Kids, on the other hand, LOVE these jokes.
My favorite childhood knock knock joke goes something like this:
Knock knock
Who's there?
Dwayne
Dwayne, who?
Dwayne the bathtub, I'm dwowning!
Fun as they may be, these jokes sometimes pose problems and/or stupors of thought for the small ones. Case in point: (two instances that make me smile even now)
In the first grade textbook we use in my classroom there is a page of "jokes". This page is always a favorite. One of the jokes is a knock knock joke. Once the kids learn the pattern for a knock knock joke, they will invariably try their hand at creating their own. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to have this conversation with a student:
Him: Teacher, I have a knock knock joke for you.
Me: Okay.
Him: Knock knock
Me: Who's there?
Him: No wait, you say knock knock.
Me: Okaaay, um, knock knock
Him: Who's there?
Me: I. Don't. Know.
Him: I don't know, who?
Me: Uh, I don't know the rest of the joke?
Him: Ohhh, heh heh.
That's the point where he gave me a funny look that seemed to say "I thought my teacher would know better jokes than that" and walked away.
Even three-year-olds like to get in on the hilarious action. The other day my niece was trying to tell a knock knock joke she must have heard from her dad. Our conversation went something like this:
Her: I want to tell the crying joke! Say "Knock knock."
Me: Knock knock
Her: Who's there?
Me: Boo
Her: Boo Wh...No! Wait, YOU say it!
Me: No, you're supposed to say knock...
Her: No, YOU say it!
Me: Okay....knock knock
Her: Who's there?
Me: Boo
Her: Boo...Hey! No! You're supposed to say it!
Me: (trying not to laugh) Knock knock
Her: Who's there?
Me: Boo
Her: Boo who?Don't cry! It's only a joke!
I guess she decided that it didn't matter how it was said as long as SHE got to say the punch line.
11 years ago
3 comments:
Her laughter and her loveliness really can clear a cloudy day. I know I may be slightly biased, but I just love to read her writing. She knows just how to make me laugh...maybe that's part of what makes her such a wonderful wife. Thanks for starting this blog my lovely pirahna :o)
You know what else cracked you up as a child...hiding from your friends...real funny.
Hey now. I only hid from Katie McBride. And if I did ever hide from you, it was probably warranted. You were probably being reeaaally annoying.
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