humor

[jwgh]

The other day, I was talking to christychristy about my wacky family, and I mentioned that my great-aunt Maria (pronounced 'muh-RYE-uh', more or less) had a very idiosyncratic way of telling jokes. Here is an authentic Maria joke told in the authentic Maria style:

Q: Have you heard the joke, the punch line to which is, 'We pronounce it "Ohio" here'?
A: Uh, no, I don't think I've heard that one.
Q: Oh! Well, a fellow from the Midwest was traveling through New England. He was traveling by train, and entered into a conversation with the other people in his compartment, one of whom asked him, 'Where are you from?' 'Iowa,' he responded. 'Oh, Ohio? I've never been there,' said the other passenger. 'Ah, no, sorry, I'm from Iowa,' he said. The other passenger smiled condescendingly and said, 'We pronounce it "Ohio" here.'

At this point, Maria would break into uproarious laughter, and her delight was so evident that you couldn't help but join in. It was an oddly effective way of telling a joke.

christychristy then said something about 'the Jake way of telling a joke'. It had never really occurred to me that I had a way of telling a joke, so I asked what my way was. She said that I tended towards the deadpan, and that it wasn't always obvious that I had, in fact, told a joke. That sounds about right.

Comments

[cgoldfish.livejournal.com]

you tell jokes?

[jwgh]

Have you heard the joke, the punch line to which is, "Arrrr! It's driving me nuts!"?

[(Anonymous)]

I've found that joke's actually better when it's begun, "Do you know what is 'Arr, it's drivin' me nuts!'? (wait for denial) The punchline to a joke that begins..."

[katrinkles.livejournal.com]

i'm not an expert on these sorts of things but i'm pretty sure that your great-aunt's pronounciation of maria is how the character in shakespeare's twelfth night is pronounced. i can understand her way of telling jokes because i can only ever remember the punchline myself.
also, your deadpan sense of humor is awesome.

[jwgh]

Thanks!

[jwgh]

Oh, I should make it clear that I don't think Christy was being critical, just descriptive.

[katrinkles.livejournal.com]

i wasn't sticking up for you, i was just stating that i think you're really funny. :)