Ever have a really great job, one you truly loved?
I did. I was librarian and a basketball coach at Snowden Township Jr Sr Highschool in Library, PA.
I had the challenging task of convincing teens of the symbiotic relationship between the jump shot and the card catalog. (Remember those?) I assigned my two starting guards, handsome Tommy and Gary, to work shelving books. This brought half the school into the library. I am sure that somewhere there is a farmer in a Farmerville.
I was also a librarian in Library, a town near Pittsburgh.
If you are a student, parent, or teacher, you know about Inservice Day. This is a day when the school excuses the students and invites experts to come in and share their wisdom with the faculty, all of whom must assemble, listen, and learn.
For my first Inservice Day in Library PA, the school had invited faculty from the University of Pittsburgh to enlighten us. The first speaker was the world’s leading authority on the cork board, that ingenious device that lets one stick a pin in a notice and affix it to the board. You can imagine our excitement in this Pre-Internet Day to learn all about that marvelous communication instrument—the cork board.
The expert marched confidently into our auditorium, greeted us, and did what many speakers do, begin with a joke to relax the audience and help them relate to the speaker. Readers, that was 64 years ago, but I remember the joke, and here it is, word for word:
This elementary school teacher decided to vary her approach, so instead of Show and Tell she decided to have the students tell a Happy Thought. ‘Close your eyes, boys and girls. And think of a happy thought. When you have one, open your eyes.’
When all eyes were open the teacher invited Nancy to tell her happy thought. Nancy rose proudly from her seat and began, ‘This summer my family is going to Disney Land, and I will get to meet Mickey Mouse.’ The class oohed and aahed, and the teacher allowed as how that was truly a happy thought. Who is next?
Tammy would go next. She rose proudly from her seat and began, ‘Next Saturday is my birthday, and there will be a party with friends, cake, and presents!’ The class oohed and aahed, and the teacher allowed as how that was truly a happy thought. Who will go next?
Johnny would. He rose hesitantly from his seat and announced, ‘I think I am pregnant.’
A confused hush fell over the class. The teacher was not confused. She knew Happy Thought time was over for the day and had her students retrieve reading books from their desks. But curiosity overcame her. She approached Johnny later as he was waiting for the school bus and asked him about his happy thought. ‘Sure, Mrs. Elm, this morning as I was having breakfast with my father and my five brothers and sisters, my mother came in and said to my dad, ‘George, I think I am pregnant, and my dad said, “My Lord, that’s a happy thought!’”
We Inservice Day captives laughed politely at this story and settled in to learn the wonders of the cork board.
An hour later, in comes the world’s leading authority on the opaque projector, that amazing instrument that could project non-transparent items onto a screen. Our excitement was palpable. To put us in a receptive mood, he began:
An elementary school teacher decided to vary . . .
Good heavens, is he telling us the same joke?
Happy Thought instead of Show and Tell . . .
Sounds the same.
It was. Nancy was going to Disney World and Tammy to a party.
What were we going to do? This poor guy. We murmured in embarrassment for the expert. We anxiously shuffled in our seats. No one will even chuckle. We just heard this joke. Discomfort enveloped us.
Johnny thought he was pregnant and his mother probably was.
We roared. Not at the joke, but in our relief. We released our anxiety in a torrent of delighted laughter. I am sure the authority decided on the spot to give up the opaque projector and go on the road with his standup comedy skills.
What do you suppose transpired in the car on the way back to the University of Pittsburgh when the opaque projector told the cork board how much we enjoyed the Happy Thought joke?
Thinking of telling a joke? We already may have heard it.
I am grateful to Tami and Lyn of Health Directions for their photography assistance.
