Greetings on this day, the ides of May. Thursday was the first really nice day of spring here after a rather cold and wet spring til now. Everyone was going outside today. I even mowed my lawn for the first time today. Although it may rain today, the temperatures seem to warming up to being "seasonal", which is good. The rain will help with the greening of the grass and the blooming of the flowers. My azaleas are in full bloom and even my daffodils are still in bloom. I love this time of year, and especially appreciating it during this Covid-19 crisis.
I couldn't find any new jokes in my tgif inbox and so I've decided to share with you the answers to my TGIF history quiz and announce the winners.
Several friends sent in ridiculous answers (that were funny - but ....) and most friends thought that only a WFP insider would be able to win this contest. Well, not exactly.
I mentioned that I didn't think anyone but a few might be able to get as many as 7 correct answers. So, here are the correct answers and further below you will see the gold, silver and bronze winners.
Trivia Questions related to the history of the TGIF:
1. How do I refer to the very first group of TGIF member/recipients?
The Dirty Dozen
2. Which brother-in-law sent me the very first joke that I used?
My sister-in-law’s husband, Fred Weiss
3. Who was that first joke about?
O.J. Simpson
4. Can you tell that joke?
What 3 things did OJ Simpson have that all American men envied him for?
1) A Heisman trophy; 2) a dead wife; and 3) a good chance to get off.
5. Who suggested that I should call myself “TGI-Jeff?
Fergus McIntosh (A Canadian friend who worked for UNICEF)
6. Who is the family relative who only reads my introduction parts and skips the jokes?
My sister-in-law, Martha Taft
7. Who was my friend in WFP who took over the TGIF editing in Rome when I left?
George Heymell. A half point would be given if you said Amir Abdulla, since he did it briefly after taking over when George left Rome HQ. No point given for responding George Aelion.
8. What was the name of the WFP Staff Counselor?
Petra Miczaika
9. Who was my WFP colleague who continued to share my TGIF within WFP after I retired?
Alpha Bah
10. Who proofread my TGIF messages prior to their issuance?
My late wife, Pam
11. Who was my “TGIF Censor” during the first dozen years?
My mother, Helen Dick (because she received it and that prevented me from using jokes that were too risqué, as she was both the daughter of and wife of a protestant minister).
12. What did I call the area in my Springfield house where I composed the TGIF messages for the first 5 years of my retirement?
The TGIF Dungeon. Since I had no windows down there and it was dark and damp.
Please note the following message that I included at the end of my story about the TGIF history and followed by the quiz:
I will be impressed if you can answer 5 of the above questions correctly.
I will be extremely impressed if you know 6 or more correct answers.
I would imagine that very few people know more than 7, other than me.
If you want to try, please submit your guesses to me at tgifjeff@gmail.com
That means “please don’t reply to this email, but address a separate email to the above address.” Thanks.
Even if you don’t know all of them, or half of them, submit your answers, so that I can see if you have been paying attention over all these years!
So, here are the results for the 12-queston TGIF History Quiz:
Third Place: Alpha Bah with 6 correct answers.
Second Place: Joya Taft-Dick, with 7 correct answers.
And the Champion, with 8 correct answers is:
Jonathan Taft-Dick.
If I needed a tie-breaker between Jonathan and Joya, Jon would have won, because he responded to my tgifjeff gmail address, as requested. (Joya responded to me at my normal email address!)
A lot of people thought that only WFP insiders would be able to win this contest. Not true.
Not one person who responded knew that the original group of recipients was “the dirty dozen”.
I’m not even sure if any of those guys are still receiving the TGIF. I think among them were: David Fletcher, George Heymell, Gian-Pietro Bordignon, Sam Thambiah, Alain Cordeil, Mohammed Saleheen, Tim Shortley, Amir Abdulla, Joe Scalise, Jim Conley and ???. Not even I can remember at this point, 25 years later.
I’m disappointed that more of you didn’t attempt to answer. Oh well. It was fun, reflecting back on all of this.
Remember to send me potential material. I seem to be only receiving old stuff and I don’t want to use only that.
Enjoy Spring as it is bursting out all over. I actually mowed my lawn for the first time today. A week after it snowed last. It was 75 degrees F today (Thursday). Yeah! But rain is in the plans for tomorrow.
Take care and stay safe and well!
TGI-Jeff (thanks Fergus!)
