ME: (Coughing in the kitchen and sounding like I'm going to die. Nothing unusual given this week.)
UPSTAIRS NEIGHBOR FRIEND: You ok down there?
ME: OMG can you hear me?
UNF: Kinda...Are you ok? Do you need anything?
ME: (Thinks about what I must sound like and then, as one does in these types of situations, thinks about Moulin Rouge:)
Maybe a handkerchief...I coughed up blood on all of mine.
UNF: Oh my goodness!!! I have tissues, will that work? Do you need to go to the hospital?
Me: Dude. Consumption joke! Haha
UNF: Oh my god you had me all worried!!!!
Apparently no one appreciates a good consumptive joke these days. Honestly, when was the last time you even heard one? Or maybe I'm just not particularly funny when I'm sick.
No, that can't be it.
there was something positively dada about that joke. yeah, nobody gets TB humor anymore, but i thought it was pretty hilarious. ever read "theoatmeal.com"? reminded me of that. which is a compliment.
ReplyDeleteAlso, few people seem to use hankerchiefs anymore (says the gal who's dad still does). Hankerchiefs and consumption...just ain't the gag fest it used to be. :P
ReplyDeleteI had a minor cold this weekend which has just made it hard to focus (plus the heat hasn't helped, either), but seems like nothing compared to your plague. Feel better, Jennifer.
Sabrina, I thought the handkerchief would be a total giveaway! Maybe if I had specified that it was lacy?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad some people liked my morbid humor anyway. When I relayed this conversation to my mom (hey, I've been sick. Nothing of interest has happened to me in over a week!), she just said, "Oh, Jennifer" in her what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you voice. Oh, Mom. I think she worries about me making friends. ; )
ok. for the record, I always go to worst! I wasn't going to really acknowledge it just be like, That Sucks. Roy was the one who started insisting he would drive you to the hospital, etc. I was conveying his worry. I told if it was really bad, ie dying... Curt would drive you to the hospital... hopefully....
ReplyDeleteIn your defense, no one else got the joke at the time. Maybe my ability to convey sarcasm is directly proportional to the congestion of my sinuses?
ReplyDelete