I’ve probably mentioned this before, but my father has a joke he does around about Thanksgiving. As is commonly known, my parents emigrated to the States from England in the late 60’s, and he still has his accent. So, people say to him, “You guys don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, do you?” My father usually replies with, “Yes, we do, but being British, we celebrate it on the Fourth of July.”
Well, a couple of days ago he tried the reverse version of the joke while at the barbershop, and it backfired on him. Knowing how our barber (a real redneck sort) doesn’t even know this website exists, I think I’m kind of safe to tell this story…
Anyway, Dad was in the barbershop, getting his hair cut, and it was just him, the barber, her son, and another customer were in there. The barber asked if Dad had any plans for the Fourth of July. Dad responded with, “No, I don’t have any special plans for Thanksgiving.”
The other customer looked at Dad with a very pissed-off expression, but didn’t say anything. The barber, on the other hand, gave Dad a blank look. It was obvious to him that neither one actually got the joke, so he attempted to explain it to her.
“What is the Fourth of July?” Dad asked.
“Independence Day,” the barber replied.
“And who did you win independence from?” Dad asked again.
“Mexico,” the barber replied.
Dad didn’t say how he reacted, but the look of horror on my face and Mom’s face pretty much said it all. I’m actually glad I wasn’t there, really, because my response would likely not have been very polite. *sigh* It’s times like that where my faith in humanity, small as it is, dies a little more…
Mexico? haha wtf?