Joking

I joke about a lot of things, but I don't joke about everything. The long running trend among professional comedians is the appearance that they will go anywhere, comedically, and joke about anything, but of course no one does that. Take a look at a favorite comedian and think about what they will never joke about. It will be part of the bedrock of their comedy. An astonishing frankness about sex or religion might co-exist with a fantastic prudishness about Capitalism or the American Military. "The stone that the builder refused will always be the head corner stone" Said Bob Marley, or The Psalms, or something.

However, just what I'm willing and not willing to joke about is a moving line, and I do occasionally wonder "Am I willing to joke about that?" A while ago we had the worst, goriest accident we have ever had at my library. Someone collapsed on our large, hard staircase. I made a joke about it to Dave in the back corner of the staff area that night. It was wildly inappropriate. The person in the accident seemed like they would be okay at the time, but they ultimately... weren't. Had I known that outcome I might just have shied from the joke, and yet I find it hard to regret because it was the one time in my life I made my co-worker Dave have a laughing fit.

When I walk down our stairs here now, the stairs of said tragic incident, I always think "Here I am, daring the stairs of death." Up until this moment that was fairly innocent because it was just a joke with myself. Not so much anymore, now that I have shared it with you.