The joke that required agreement
Page 106CHAPTER 5
The joke that required agreement
An institution advertises that it can laugh at itself; an unamused question tests the advertisement.
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1 And I shit you not, the Society prepared a notice declaring that every question was welcome.
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2 Beneath it a smaller notice requested that questions remain sufficiently amusing.
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3 A visitor asked why the smallest doorway was the only entrance offered to them.
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4 The keeper answered with a clever saying concerning narrow- mindedness.
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5 Some laughed.
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6 The doorway remained narrow.
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7 The visitor said: I was not asking for a metaphor.
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8 The keeper was troubled, having supposed that a successful joke completed the interaction.
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9 And the Office of Excellent Intentions offered him a familiar defense: Perhaps the visitor lacketh a sense of humor.
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10 But he declined it and asked what access was needed.
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11 Then they opened the other entrance and corrected the directions.
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12 Afterward he retained the joke in his notebook, beneath the heading THINGS THAT DID NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION.
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13 For laughter may open a door.
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14 It must not be mistaken for opening the actual door.
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If the joke cancels the question, inspect the joke.
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TRY IT Try giving a plain answer before making the clever one.
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READING CONVERSATION Letter 11; pp. 23–24.