At a recent Christmas party, our host commented that you are the funniest person he knows. On our way home I told you that I didn’t find you to be unusually funny. You responded,
“It’s a dry humor. Perhaps it is mundane to you because you’re British.”
“Hmm,” I said, “now your brother has the dry part down pat. Do you remember…”
I didn’t have to say any more as we chorused his punchline of some five years ago and we both laughed. I laughed so hard that tears rolled down my cheeks.
Afterwards I wondered why we found the memory of this innocuous, not very funny, punch-line so hilarious. I postulate that, like all good humor, it was timing and delivery. To this day I recall the set-up. It was the weekend after Thanksgiving when both our brothers were visiting. As the day was balmy as Austin, Texas can be in November, you three men had taken up residence on my sister’s patio. Ostensively, you were slow-cooking a brisket on the BBQ although I recall that large quantities of beer were being imbibed. Your brother sat on the right, mine in the middle, draped rather than sitting, with his feet upon the wrought-iron patio table. You sat on the left, rising from time to time to baste the brisket or to get more beer. We, women, were inside chatting and preparing accompaniments for the brisket.
Then my brother began to laugh. A good rich belly rumble of a laugh. His feet came off the table and he rocked back and forth in his mirth. You echoed his laughter and your brother, who looked somewhat surprised at the reaction to his joke, joined in. It was at least half an hour before we, women, could get one of you to stop laughing long enough to share the cause of your mirth. My brother pointed at yours,
“Out of the blue he asks, ‘What did the mother turkey say to her disobedient children?’ No warning, nothing.” At this point you all three took up laughing again. We wondered what that punch line could be, and waited for you to regain composure. At last you spoke to your brother,
“Go on tell them!”
Your brother, in his dead pan voice gave us the line “If your father could see you now, he’d turn over in his gravy!”
Of course, the mirth resumed again and, we, the women, joined in, chuckling, not at the joke, but at our men-folk.
jstansfeld 
Hi Jane!
Yes, I am quite certain the copious amounts of booze helped contribute to the overwrought laughing session. Ah, what can you say about the Y-chromosome? 🙂
I am not the type to have a ‘man cave’, and I think it humorous that men need such a reclusive room. I’m sure the womenfolk think, ‘Go ahead. Go to your private place. I have the rest of the house to myself!’
As to the joke itself, the play on words was clever, I admit, but to indulge in an extended guffaw session seemed excessive. The wonders of beer…
Take care, Jane!
Paul 🙂
I thank you for your visit, and am happy to report that I just read your UPSense of Insanity and appreciated every word of your dry humor making it an excellent read. None of the men in my story have, or want caves; although I do recall my mother saying that if it weren’t for women men would still be in caves probably shooting atomic bombs at each other. Well at least we can chuckle at the opposite sex’s foibles, with or without alcoholic stimuli.
Haha, I’ve noticed our women seem to find their men’s peculiarities a topic of humorous conversation whenever they get together in their little private bonding sessions. :).
Don’t you think that BOTH sexes do this? In the case of my story I suspect that the copious amounts of beer probably contributed to the hilarity but why did I, quite sober, laugh until tears ran down my cheeks at the mere memory of the incident? I’m glad that laughter sometimes comes with such ease – isn’t it therapeutic?
Both sexes? And here all this time I thought it was only fishing, cars, motorcycles and work when men got together. Hmm, now that I think of it! 🙂 🙂
Is it a man thing, because I found that funny too > “If your father could see you now, he’d turn over in his gravy!”
Happy New Year, Jane, and all good blessings,
Eric
Yes, it is a bona fide “joke” and can be found on the internet, so you join many who find it funny. Even I don’t contest that it is funny in a word play way earning a “ha ha” as earned by those brothers Grin of yours, but surely not a thirty minute laugh-in. In our case I am convinced that the copious amounts of beer contributed plus the fact that laughter is contagious.