So, here\u2019s a clean joke I like (and one of the very few that I know. Also, bear in mind\u2026 I could make it longer; but elaborate staging notes will have to suffice.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
{Setting: Two couples in their late 70s after dinner. The wives have retreated to the kitchen to assemble the dessert & coffee. The two husbands head to the den to lay claim to the most comfortable seating.}<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Husband #1: We went to a great place for dinner on Wednesday night. I think it was Saul\u2019s wife Kathy (Saul, being Sandy\u2019s brother), who mentioned during brunch we shared at Mix Prime in Woodbury that nouns are the first to go. <\/em>This observation was made when someone at the table (I don\u2019t remember who) couldn\u2019t retrieve a word from his or her vocab inventory.Then, the conversation thread came to a halt as the table engaged in a joint effort to tease out the missing word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sorta like the game of charades. But in charades the person who holds the floor knows the answer, and everyone else in the room has to try to guess the answer. But in this little variation, no one<\/em> knows the answer. Or more accurately, the person who knows <\/em>the answer can\u2019t remember it. (And this is why it\u2019s good to go to places that serve unlimited Bloody Mary\u2019s and Mimosa\u2019s for brunch).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the general scheme of things this \u201cforgetting a word\u201d is a mild symptom of aging. And it is something to keep in mind when other more problematic physical issues begin to intrude in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyway, what\u2019s the big deal if one day you can\u2019t remember, for example, the term \u201cbeltway\u201d? What brought this to mind, I can\u2019t say. But I enlisted Sandy\u2019s help to unearth the word to describe an Interstate road that is used to circuit around a major city to avoid the more congested route that goes thru the city. I even had trouble articulating the purpose of this thing. <\/em>I stumbled thru countless, \u201cya knows\u201d and \u201ccome ons\u201d (all accompanied with gestures added to help recover the word),and voiced in a crescendo of exasperation, and all to no avail. (SIDE NOTE: increased speaking volume is of no assistance).<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point we can agree that \u201cbeltway\u201d is not a particularly fancy <\/em>word (what linguists would call an \u201cinkhorn\u201d term). It\u2019s easy to spell. Easy to pronounce. Once you understand the context, it’s easy to understand the meaning\u2026 and thoroughly maddening not to be able to put the word into play when I wanted to. The word remained unreturned to me for over a week. True. That pesky word vexed my sleep for a week. At least once a night, while trying to fall asleep, or in the middle of the night when I would get up to hit the loo <\/em>(see above comment about physical issues of aging), there would be a void where \u201cbeltway\u201d should be. Finally<\/em>, there came the night when I got up from my sleep and announced to the ceiling fan, \u201cbeltway.\u201d I felt like T.E. Lawrence who against all odds crossed the Negev Desert! I was a happy fellah. I now \u201cowned\u201d the word\u2026 never <\/em>to be forgotten!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unrelated to interstates and beltways, more recently I had a \u201cYogi Berra Moment” (he, a distinguished American man of letters who once said, and I quote, \u201cit was like d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu, all over again\u2026\u201d). I was in conversation and lost the word to describe random violence, not against people, but against property. Like in Disney\u2019s animated film Pinocchio when Pinocc and Lampwick are in Pleasure Island and the kids are running amuck throwing bricks at houses and dropping pianos from second floor windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It took another in-the-middle-of-the-night-epiphany for \u201cvandalism\u201d to be released from the netherworld of my mind. I fashioned an association for the word to aid in its retention. It was simple, the origin of the word traces back to the Vandals, one of the \u201cbarbarian\u201d tribes that hassled the Roman Empire, and I\u2019m a big fan of barbarians\u2026 Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Huns, Franks, Vandals\u2026 I like \u2018em all! So I felt confident that I could put losing a troublesome word to rest!<\/p>\n\n\n\n But not so fast Kowalski\u2026 a few weeks later I was re-visiting my word dropping incidents to Sandy, and lo! My re-acquisition of \u201cbeltway\u201d proved fleeting! So much for \u201cowning\u201d the word. Thankfully I regained the noun without an extended lapse, and then to seal the deal, Sandy, being from Brooklyn, offered the \u201cBelt Parkway\u201d as an associated term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Am I \u201csafe\u201d? Not really. This \u201cnoun loss\u201d thing ain\u2019t going away. I\u2019m grateful that my collection of adjectives and verbs appear unaffected by vocabulary displacement. Remembering people\u2019s names can sometimes be a challenge. And there is something else I wanted to add here in closing\u2026 but I forget what it is. Shame, I\u2019m sure that it was insightful, clever and pithy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So, here\u2019s a clean joke I like (and one of the very few that I know. Also, bear in mind\u2026 I could make it longer; but elaborate staging notes will have to suffice.) {Setting: Two couples in their late 70s … Continue reading
Husband #2: Oh? Where\u2019d ya go?
Husband #1: We drove down to New Haven.
Husband #2: OK, New Haven. What\u2019s the place?
Husband #1: It was that place that was just written up in that, uhhhh, in\u2026 uhhhhh\u2026NO! it was on that thing on cable. You know\u2026 that program that features different places to eat in different towns. You know\u2026 San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, New Haven.
Husband #2: OK, New Haven. What\u2019s the name of the place?
Husband #1: The name? It\u2019s, uhhhh {rolls his eyes<\/em>}. Uhhhhh {shifts a bit in his chair<\/em>}. It was, uhhhh {gestures with his hands in a circular motion to indicate progressive thought and frustration<\/em>}. It was\u2026 you know\u2026 {puts his hand to his forehead<\/em>}! *uch* What\u2019s the name of that flower that is red? But it could also be other colors!! Come on\u2026 {gestures towards Husband #2 to supply the answer<\/em>}. You know\u2026 {gestures more emphatically and raises his voice considerably, displaying pique and irritation<\/em>}. The flower that has long stems and all those thorns!!
Husband #2: A rose?
Husband #1: That\u2019s it! {turns to the kitchen and shouts} Rose!! What was the name of the restaurant we went to on Wednesday night?<\/p>\n\n\n\n