Persistence Pays Off

I have a friend who I love to pester with Dad Jokes. We go way back, I’ve known her for years. Aside from her inability to appreciate great humor, she is an otherwise wonderful person. But primarily because she has no sense of humor, I enjoy nothing quite so much as lighting up her social media feeds with my favorite jokes. All of her friends laugh while she pretends not to think they are hysterically funny. A while ago I stumbled across a classic of the genre and couldn’t resist sending it to her via private message:

Me: There was an old man who lived beside a great forest. As he grew older and older, he started losing his hair, until one day, on his deathbed, he was completely bald. That day, he called all of his children together for a meeting…

He said, “Look at my hair. It used to be so magnificent, but it’s completely gone now. My hair can’t be saved. But look outside at that beautiful forest. It’s such a lovely forest with so many trees, but sooner or later they’ll all be cut down to make way for more and more people and this great forest will look as bald as my head.”

“What I want you all to do”, the old man continued, “Is every time someone cuts down a tree or a tree dies, plant a new one in my memory. Tell your descendants to do the same. It shall be our family’s duty to keep this forest beautiful forever.”

So they did.

Each time the forest lost a tree, the children replanted one, and so did their children and their children’s children, and their children after them. And for centuries, the forest remained as lush and beautiful as it once was, all because of one man…

…and his re-seeding heir-line.

There was a long silent pause before she finally responded:

Her: That seemed like it was going to be a beautiful story... and then YOU happened.

Don’t know about you but I think all the years of annoying her with jokes was worth it—just for that response!!