TGIF - 15 December 2017


Greetings from the Green Mountain State where our colors at present are green (the pine trees) and white (about 10 inches of snow cover) and so we are getting in the holiday spirit. Except even us hardy Yankee New Englanders don’t like the really cold temperatures like we’ve had these last few days. At least the ski areas must be happy.

I’ve been enjoying listening to my Xmas play list of most of the old favorites. It helps get me in the mood for writing my Christmas cards, along with some nice scented candles. But I’ve interrupted that process for a little bit to try and issue you all a TGIF message. After all, it is the last work day of the week and only 10 days until Christmas Day! Happy Holidays!

With the never-ending outing of many powerful men for sexual misconduct, I understand that one male office manager told his staff that he didn’t think it would be a good idea to hang the mistletoe over his office door this year. Good idea!

In Alabama this last Tuesday, a very Republican state, voters turned out to elect a democrat over the favored but flawed candidate, Republican Roy Moore. Allegations came out a month ago about his transgressions of forty years ago where he was accused by a half dozen women (some underage at the time) of sexual misconduct. Despite those accusations, President Trump continued to support and campaign for him, arguing that (something like this) a sexual predator of young women was better than “a leftist Democrat”. The post election coverage of this special election to fill the senatorial slot vacated by Beauregard Jeffrey Sessions when Trump tapped him for US Attorney General has revealed the work of the NAACP to get the vote out among the black and Latino communities. I heard one Black interviewee say that this all started with the March at Selma in 1965, when young people from all over the country descended on Alabama to assist in registering voters of color. When of a few these people were killed while doing this, thousands of people from all over the country went to Selma, including my own mother. So, I can imagine that she would be very proud and happy that those seeds planted way back then have now borne some fruit.

To be continued.

Time to reach into the mailbag/jokebag and see what I can pull out and use.

Remember not to blame me for the material. It’s just a matter of “garbage in – then garbage out!”


So, How’d You Break Your Arm?

A friend just got back from a holiday ski trip to Utah with the kind of story that warms the cockles of anybody's heart.
Conditions were perfect, 12 below, no feeling in the toes, basic numbness all over, the "tell me when we're having fun" kind of day. One of the women in the group complained to her husband that she was in dire need of a restroom.
He told her not to worry, that he was sure there was relief waiting at the top of the lift in the form of a powder room for female skiers in distress.
He was wrong, of course, and the pain did not go away. If you've ever had nature hit its panic button in you, then you know that a temperature of 12 below zero doesn't help matters.
So, with time running out, the woman weighed her options. Her husband, picking up on the intensity of her pain, suggested that since she was wearing an all white ski outfit, she should go off in the woods. No one would even notice, he assured her. The white would provide more than adequate camouflage.
So she headed for the tree line, began disrobing and proceeded to do her thing. If you've ever parked on the side of a slope, then you know there is a right way and a wrong way to set your skis so you don't move. 
Yep, you got it... she had them positioned the wrong way. Steep slopes are not forgiving, even during embarrassing moments. Without warning, the woman found herself skiing backward, out of control, racing through the trees, somehow missing all of them and onto another slope.
Her derriere and her reverse side were still bare, her pants down around her knees, and she was picking up speed all the while. She continued on backwards, totally out of control, creating an unusual vista for the other skiers. The woman skied, if you define that verb loosely, back under the lift, and finally collided violently with a pylon.
The bad news was that she broke her arm and was unable to pull up her ski pants. At long last her husband arrived, putting an end to her nudie show, then went to the base of the mountain and summoned the ski patrol, who transported her to a hospital.
In the emergency room she was regrouping when a man with an obviously broken leg was put in the bed next to hers. "So, how'd you break your leg?" she asked, making small talk.
"It was the darndest thing you ever saw," he said. "I was riding up this ski lift, and suddenly I couldn't believe my eyes. There was this crazy woman skiing backward out of control down the mountain with her bare bottom hanging out of her clothes and her pants down around her knees. I leaned over to get a better look, and I guess I didn't realize how far I had moved. I fell out of the lift. So, how'd you break your arm?"
*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

Sharp Senior Citizen

A retired older couple return to a BMW dealership where the salesman has just sold the car they were interested in to a beautiful blonde in a very revealing outfit.

The old man was visibly upset. He spoke to the salesman sharply. "Young man, I thought you said you would hold that car till we raised the $55,000 asking price," said the older man. "Yet I just heard you closed the deal for $45,000 to the lovely young lady there."

"And if I remember right, you had insisted there was no way you could discount this model."

The salesman took a deep breath, cleared his throat and reached for a large glass of water. "Well, what can I tell you? She had the cash ready, didn't need any financing help, and, Sir, just look at her, how could I resist?", replied the grinning salesman sheepishly.

Just then the young woman approached the senior couple and gave the car keys to the old man... "There you go," she said. "I told you I could get him to lower the price.... see you later Dad" 

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

CURRENCY NEWS FROM CANADA..... 

The Royal Canadian Mint has just announced they are going to remove the polar bear from the $2 coin in view of its demise due to global warming!

At the height of political correctness, they will replace it with two gay deer.

The coin will now be called “two fuckin’ bucks"!

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

You have to love little kids.

“The Little Piece of Candy with the Hole in the Middle”

A class was having a lesson about LifeSavers candy.
  
The children began to identify the flavors by their color:
  
Red....................Cherry
Yellow...............Lemon
Green..................Lime
Orange .............Orange
  
Finally the teacher gave them all HONEY Lifesavers. None of the children could identify the taste.
  
The teacher said, 'I will give you all a clue. It's what your mother may sometimes call your father.'
  
One little girl looked up in horror, spit her lifesaver out and yelled, 'Oh my God! They're ass-holes!

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

Ghandi

Ghandi was very much disliked by one of his professors in England, who lost no opportunity to disparage, insult or simply criticize him.  Consequently Ghandi lost no chance to set him up.  On one occasion, Ghandi came into the cafeteria and sat down next to the professor to eat lunch.  The irritated professor pointed out that “birds don’t associate with pigs”.  Ghandi promptly replied that he would “fly over to another seat”.

On another occasion, Ghandi handed in a test paper to the professor who wrote “idiot” on it.  Ghandi took it back to the professor and pointed out – “You signed my test but forgot to give me a grade”.

Finally the professor asked Ghandi, “If you were walking down the street and saw two cartons in front of you, one marked Wisdom and the other Money, which would you choose?”  Ghandi immediately responded – “Money”.  Ahh said the professor; “ I would choose wisdom” to which Ghandi responded –“Every man wants what he does not have”.

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

And speaking of wise men, like Ghandi ……

Observations from a wise old man

The closest I ever got to a 4.0 in college was my blood alcohol content.

I live in my own little world, but it's OK.  Everyone knows me here.

I saw a very large woman wearing a sweatshirt with "Guess" on it. 
I said, "Left Tackle?"

I don't do drugs.  I find I get the same effect just by standing up really fast.

I don't like political jokes.  I've seen too many get elected.

The most precious thing we have is life, yet it has absolutely no trade-in value.

If life deals you lemons, make lemonade. If life deals you tomatoes, make Bloody Marys.

Shopping tip: You can get shoes for a buck at bowling alleys.

Every day I beat my previous record of consecutive days I've stayed alive.

No one ever says, "It's only a game!" when their team's winning.

Ever notice that people who spend money on beer, cigarettes and lottery tickets are always complaining about being broke and not feeling well?

Isn't having a smoking section in a restaurant like having a peeing section in a swimming pool?

Marriage changes passion.  Suddenly you're in bed with a relative.

Snowmen fall from Heaven unassembled.

Now that food has replaced sex in my life, I can't even get into my own pants.

I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose fitting clothing, I wouldn't need the freakin' class!

Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.

Wouldn't you know it! Brain cells come and brain cells go, but FAT cells live forever.

Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they can in prison?

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It’s time for the TGIF GOLDEN CLASSIC!

But just before that, remember this little piece of advice:

If at first you don’t succeed, SKYDIVING is not for you!


Winter

Its late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in Wisconsin asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild.

Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.
But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'

'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?' 

'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'it's going to be a very cold winter.' 

The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.

Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?'

'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.'

'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked. 

The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting a shitload of firewood'

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

It’s hard to tell here what kind of winter we may have. At least we have snow for the holidays. We’ll take it one week at a time after that. And I will likely “fly south” for a few weeks in late February to break up my winter in Vermont.

Wishing you all either Happy Hanukah, or Happy Solstice Day, or Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays or Happy New Year; - whatever applies!

Til next year, enjoy the holidays!

TGI-Jeff



TGIF - 01 December 2017



Greetings from your Friday guy at the end of the last week of November. Remember the old Burma Shave (you’d have to be at least over 60 or 65) one about the number of days in the months? Thirty Days Hath September, April, June and the Speed Offender. Actually, that should have been November, if you weren’t speeding. I doubt that even way back then you’d get thirty days behind bars for speeding!

Well, speaking of speeding, we have flown through November and now December is already here. Hard to believe. I see that some people already have their Christmas lights up. I guess I know what I am going to do this weekend. Each year I say I am going to do that BEFORE it gets cold and each year I don’t get around to doing that until it is freezing outside.

I had a great Thanksgiving with family in DC at Joya and Christopher’s house. Chris’s parents drove from Chicago and I, from Vermont, naturally. I picked Jonathan up in Brooklyn on the way down. Traffic wasn’t too bad, although worse than normal. Chris, Joya and Jon cooked all the dishes for the meal and it was great. The others of us brought breakfast stuff and bought the wine, but the three of them put on a great meal. We were joined by Martha and Fred too, for the meal. So, a good time was had by all!

Driving back home on Saturday with Jon, and Sunday from Brooklyn to my home in Vermont, I learned that it was 240 miles from DC to Brooklyn and the same 240 miles from Brooklyn to home. Interesting.

All the news of the recent weeks has been disappointing and depressing.

The number of men in powerful positions who are being accused of some form of sexual harassment is increasing by the day. It’s about time that women feel that they can speak out on this issue and be believed.

But since this is the TGIF and not a blog on gender equality and sensitivity, let me just say that I am reminded of this old one:

Said an “unfortunate looking” (thank you, BPT) female employee to the CEO, “All the other women in the company are suing you for sexual harassment, except for me. So, since you haven’t sexually harassed me, I plan on suing you for discrimination.”

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

Bernie Speaks Up on Sexual Harassment

Then there was our Vermont Senator speaking the other day about Sexual Harassment.

He said, “Let me be perfectly clear. I did not get groped by Donald Trump. I got screwed by Hilary Clinton”.

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

The following one would not have gotten past my former censor (my late mother) despite the introduction. But I can’t help it if you have a dirty mind and think of something else but the literal meaning.

The Birch Tree and the Beech Tree
It is hard to find a joke today without a dirty word or two in it, but here is one:

Two tall trees, a birch and a beech, are growing in the woods. A small tree begins to grow between them, and the beech says to the birch, 'Is that a son of a beech or a son of a birch?' The birch says he cannot tell, but just then a woodpecker lands on the sapling.

The birch says, 'Woodpecker, you are a tree expert. Can you tell if that is a son of a beech or a son of a birch?'

The woodpecker takes a taste of the small tree and replies, 'It is neither a son of a beech nor a son of a birch. It is, however, the best piece of ash I have ever poked my pecker into.

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A Few Brief Ones

Q: An ethical lawyer, an honest politician, and a merciful aerobics instructor all fall out of an airplane. Which one hits the ground first? 
A: It doesn't matter - none of them exist. 

Q:  What did the elephant say to the naked man? 
A:  That's cute, but can it pick up peanuts!

Q: What is the difference between a pregnant woman and a light bulb? 
A: You can unscrew a light bulb.

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

MY KIND OF GIRL...

A little girl was talking to her father.  "Since Valentine's Day is for a Christian saint and we're Jewish," she asks, "will God get mad at me for giving someone a valentine?
                                   
Thelma's father thinks a bit then says "No, I don't think God would get mad. Who do you want to give a valentine to?"

"The whole ISIS group," she says.

"Why them?" her father asks in shock.

"Well," she says, "I thought that if a little American Jewish girl could have enough love to give them a valentine, they might start to think that maybe we're not all bad, and maybe start loving people a little bit.  And if other kids saw what I did and then they sent valentines to them, they'd love everyone a lot.  And then they'd start going all over the place telling everyone how much they loved them and how they didn't hate anyone anymore."

Her father's heart swells and he looks at his daughter with newfound pride.
"Thelma, that's the most wonderful thing I've ever heard."

"I know," Thelma says, "and once that gets them out in the open, the Marines could blow the shit out of them."

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

George and the Dragon

A homeless guy is traveling down a country lane, tired and hungry he comes across
a Pub called the "George and the Dragon."

Although it's late and the Pub is closed he knocks on the door.
The innkeeper's wife sticks her head out of a window.
"Could I have some food?" he asks.
The woman glances at his shabby clothes and obviously poor condition and sternly says, "No!"

"Any chance of a pint of ale then?"
"No!" she says again.

"Could I at least sleep in your barn?"
"No!" By this time, she was shouting.

The down-and-out says, "OK Then Might I please...?"
"What now?" the woman shouts impatiently.

"Might I please have a word with George?
*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

I really liked that one. Now, go back and look at the title of the joke. Got it? Sweet!

Poor George!

Energy-Efficient Windows
Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with those expensive, double-pane, energy-efficient kind.
  
Today, I got a call from Home Depot who installed them. The caller complained that the work had been completed a year ago and I still hadn't paid for them.
  
Helloooo,........... just because I'm a Senior Citizen doesn't mean that I am automatically mentally challenged..
 
So, I told him just what his fast-talking sales guy told me last year--that these windows would pay for themselves in a year---
 
Hellooooo? It's been a year, so they're paid for, I told him.
There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally hung up.
 
He never called back.  I bet he felt like an idiot.

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

Don’t Despair

Sitting by the window of her convent, Sister Judy opened a letter from home one evening.  Inside the letter was a $100 bill her parents had sent.  Sister Judy smiled at the gesture.

As she read the letter by the window, she noticed a shabbily dressed stranger leaning against the lamppost below.  Quickly, she wrote, "Don't despair. - Sister Judy," on a piece of paper, wrapped the $100 bill in it, got the man's attention and tossed it out the window to him.

The stranger picked it up, and with a puzzled expression and a tip of his hat, went off down the street.

The next day, Sister Judy was told that a man was at her door, insisting on seeing her.  

She went down, and found the stranger waiting. Without a word, he handed her a huge wad of $100 bills.

"What's this?" she asked.”  

That's the $8,000 you have coming Sister," he replied. "Don't Despair paid 80-to-1."

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

Here’s another one that would not have made it past the TGIF censor back in the day. Oh well. I guess you all don’t care about that anymore!

Aliens Land in Arizona

Two aliens landed in the Arizona desert near a gas station that was closed for the night. They approached one of the gas pumps and the younger alien addressed it saying, "Greetings, Earthling. We come in peace. Take us to your leader."
The gas pump, of course, didn't respond.
The younger alien became angry at the lack of response.
The older alien said, "I'd calm down if I were you."
The younger alien ignored the warning and repeated his greeting.

Again, there was no response.
Annoyed by the pump's haughty attitude, he drew his ray gun and said gruffly, "Greetings, Earthling. We come in peace. Take us to your leader or I will fire!"

The older alien again warned his comrade saying, "You probably don't want to do that! I really think that will make him mad."

“Rubbish!” replied the young alien, then aimed his weapon and opened fire.

There was a huge explosion. A massive fireball roared towards him and blew the younger alien off his feet and threw him in a burnt, smoking mess about 200 yards away into a cactus patch.

Half an hour passed. When he finally regained consciousness, he refocused his three eyes, straightened his bent antenna and looked dazedly at the older, wiser alien who was standing over him shaking his big, green head.

"What a ferocious creature!" exclaimed the young, fried alien. "He damn near killed me! How did you know he was so dangerous?"

The older alien leaned over, placed a friendly feeler on his crispy friend and replied, "If there's one thing I've learned during my intergalactic travels, you never ever mess with a guy who can loop his penis over his shoulder twice and then stick it in his ear."

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

This explains why friends forward jokes.

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying and that the dog walkingbeside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, “Excuse me, where are we?”

“This is Heaven, sir,” the man answered.

“Wow! Would you happen to have some water?”The man asked.

“Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up.” The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

“Can my friend,” gesturing toward his dog, “come in, too?” the traveller asked.

“I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.”

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog. After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.

“Excuse me!” he called to the man. “Do you have any water?”

“Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in.”

“How about my friend here?” the traveller gestured to the dog.

“There should be a bowl by the pump,” said the man.

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveller filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree. “What do you call this place?” the traveller asked.

“This is Heaven,” he answered.

“Well, that's confusing,” the traveller said. “The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.'”

“Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's Hell.”

“Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?”

“No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.”

So-o-o-o. Now you see, sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding stuff to us without writing a word. Maybe this will explain it.
When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, Guess what you do? You forward emails! When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep contact, you forward jokes! When you have something to say, but don't know what, and don't know how . . . . You forward stuff!

A 'forward' lets you know that . . .
. . . You are still remembered,
. . . You are still important,
. . . You are still loved,
. . . You are still cared for.

So, next time if you get a 'forward', don't think that you've been sent just another forwarded joke, but that you've been thought of today and your friend on the other end of your computer wanted to send you a smile.

You are welcome at my water bowl anytime !!

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

You are welcome at my water bowl anytime!

But for now, it’s time to wish you all a fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend as we move into the Holiday Season.

All the best!

TGI-Jeff