Jeremiah's School of Levitation
Upsy-Daisy!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Daddy Funny
It's always fun when I unintentionally crack my 9 year-old son up, at least when whatever I did to crack him up didn't involve me needing medical attention afterwards ("Daddy! Step on that rake again! That was sooo funny!")
No, this time, we were in the mall Macy's, looking for a restroom. Now, I'm not usually ever in Macy's unless either going through it is the shortest route to the parking lot, or I have a bathroom emergency and every other mall restroom is way over in outer sectors and the next shuttle isn't coming for six minutes.
I have a hard time with Macy's or any other giant, pricey department store. I always go into a sneezing fit when I go into those places because, somehow, I always manage to enter the perfume section first. The subsequent Clash de Parfum is like a cross fire of tiny flaming arrows and they all manage to lodge themselves in my tender nostril walls, thereby, they almost immediately throw me into paroxyms of sneezing that make me lurch through the store like a spooked chicken, thrust forward by the momentum of my ah-choos.
It happened again on this day with my son, but we both had to go bad, so we pushed on. I saw a sign that said Restroom and we followed its lead. We went down a hall, turned left, went down another hall, turned right, went down ANOTHER hall...by this time, I was thinking I may have to start thinking of running...and we went down YET ANOTHER hall where, just as I was about to break into a sprint, there was the Men's room door, finally.
When I got there, my son right behind me, I shoved open the door and exclaimed "Man, finding this bathroom was like going on the journey for the Holy Grail!"
Okay, mildly amusing line, at best, I thought, and definitely not something I'd expect a 9 year-old to get--I was generally just entertaining myself out loud. However, my son erupted in laughter on the spot.
"HOLY GRAIL! That's funny, Daddy! Holy Grail!" and he literally bent over laughing. "Oh my God! What made you say THAT!"
Frankly, I was puzzled how he got that, but I laughed along with him, mostly because he was so genuinely gleed out.
We left the bathroom, and he was still laughing. We walked to the car and he kept sporatically cracking up and saying "Holy Grail!"
Finally, we got in the car and he wiped his tears and, still giggling, he said "Daddy, what's a 'grail'?"
Now it was my turn to laugh. Turns out he had no idea what I was referring to. He just liked the sound of the words "holy grail". And, when I thought about it, "grail" actually is a funny word.
But, I wasn't done being clever yet, apparently. I told him, "Well, a grail is like a chalice, a, um bowl..."
"A bowl?" he said, grinning again. "Like a toilet bowl? I get it!" And that set him off again. So, in essence I made a reference to something I didn't even know I was making a reference to, and yet managed to somehow be both accurate and funny. In other words, I pulled humor (or "kid humor") out of thin air.
So, we both laughed and then, at some point changed the subject.
Later that night, as I was putting him to bed, he giggled a little and said "Holy grail. Geesh!"
Hmm. A comedian for kids. Maybe that's my next career....
No, this time, we were in the mall Macy's, looking for a restroom. Now, I'm not usually ever in Macy's unless either going through it is the shortest route to the parking lot, or I have a bathroom emergency and every other mall restroom is way over in outer sectors and the next shuttle isn't coming for six minutes.
I have a hard time with Macy's or any other giant, pricey department store. I always go into a sneezing fit when I go into those places because, somehow, I always manage to enter the perfume section first. The subsequent Clash de Parfum is like a cross fire of tiny flaming arrows and they all manage to lodge themselves in my tender nostril walls, thereby, they almost immediately throw me into paroxyms of sneezing that make me lurch through the store like a spooked chicken, thrust forward by the momentum of my ah-choos.
It happened again on this day with my son, but we both had to go bad, so we pushed on. I saw a sign that said Restroom and we followed its lead. We went down a hall, turned left, went down another hall, turned right, went down ANOTHER hall...by this time, I was thinking I may have to start thinking of running...and we went down YET ANOTHER hall where, just as I was about to break into a sprint, there was the Men's room door, finally.
When I got there, my son right behind me, I shoved open the door and exclaimed "Man, finding this bathroom was like going on the journey for the Holy Grail!"
Okay, mildly amusing line, at best, I thought, and definitely not something I'd expect a 9 year-old to get--I was generally just entertaining myself out loud. However, my son erupted in laughter on the spot.
"HOLY GRAIL! That's funny, Daddy! Holy Grail!" and he literally bent over laughing. "Oh my God! What made you say THAT!"
Frankly, I was puzzled how he got that, but I laughed along with him, mostly because he was so genuinely gleed out.
We left the bathroom, and he was still laughing. We walked to the car and he kept sporatically cracking up and saying "Holy Grail!"
Finally, we got in the car and he wiped his tears and, still giggling, he said "Daddy, what's a 'grail'?"
Now it was my turn to laugh. Turns out he had no idea what I was referring to. He just liked the sound of the words "holy grail". And, when I thought about it, "grail" actually is a funny word.
But, I wasn't done being clever yet, apparently. I told him, "Well, a grail is like a chalice, a, um bowl..."
"A bowl?" he said, grinning again. "Like a toilet bowl? I get it!" And that set him off again. So, in essence I made a reference to something I didn't even know I was making a reference to, and yet managed to somehow be both accurate and funny. In other words, I pulled humor (or "kid humor") out of thin air.
So, we both laughed and then, at some point changed the subject.
Later that night, as I was putting him to bed, he giggled a little and said "Holy grail. Geesh!"
Hmm. A comedian for kids. Maybe that's my next career....
Labels: humor
Elliot, 9:09 AM
4 Back at me:
Never knew you had it in you.
Your son is great fun.
Your son is great fun.
that is one of the funniest stories I have heard in ages...
Search for the Holy Grail is, btw, one of our most faves films... :)))
"He's ah already got one..."
Search for the Holy Grail is, btw, one of our most faves films... :)))
"He's ah already got one..."
HAH! We let our 10-year old boy watch "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" the other night (sans the Black Night scene for blood and the Castle Anthrax scene for sex). Big hit! But I'm still not sure he knows what a grail is...from now on, I'll tell him it's a toilet!
Maggie: He is an appreciative audience, which is why I cut up around him so often. He enables me.
Ipod: A classic film, no doubt. I think, back in high school, my friends and I, for about a month, didn't say anything except Holy Grail quotes.
Mona: The Holy Toilet. A toilet at times can be quite holy--that Macy's emergency was one of them.
Ipod: A classic film, no doubt. I think, back in high school, my friends and I, for about a month, didn't say anything except Holy Grail quotes.
Mona: The Holy Toilet. A toilet at times can be quite holy--that Macy's emergency was one of them.
