HUMORMemories - Fender skirts!I came across this phrase yesterday "FENDERSKIRTS".A term I haven't heard in a long time and thinkingabout "fender skirts" started me thinking about otherwords that quietly disappear from our language withhardly a notice like "curb feelers" And "steering knobs."(AKA) suicide knob. Since I'd been thinking of cars, mymind naturally went that direction first. Any kids willprobably have to find some elderly person over 50 toexplain some of these terms to you. Remember"Continental kits?" They were rear bumper extendersand spare tire covers that were supposed to make anycar as cool as a Lincoln Continental. When did we quitcalling them "emergency brakes?" At some point "parkingbrake" became the proper term. But I miss the hintof drama that went with "emergency brake." I'm sad,too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would callthe accelerator the "foot feed." Didn't you ever wait atthe street for your daddy to come home, so you couldride the "running board" up to the house? Here's aphrase I heard all the time in my youth but never anymore- "store-bought." Of course, just about everythingis store-bought these days. But once it was braggingmaterial to have a store-bought dress or a store-boughtbag of candy. Coast to coast" is a phrase that once heldall sorts of excitement and now means almost nothing.Now we take the term "world wide" for granted thisfloors me. On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once amagical term in our homes. In the '50s, everyone coveredhis or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wallcarpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wallcarpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure.When's the last time you heard the quaint phrase "in afamily way?" It's hard to imagine that the word "pregnant"was once considered a little too graphic, a littletoo clinical for use in polite company So we had all thattalk about stork visits and "being in a family way" or simply"expecting." Apparently "brassiere" is a word nolonger in usage. I said it the other day and my daughtercracked up. I guess it's just "bra" now "Unmentionables"probably wouldn't be understood at all. I always lovedgoing to the "picture show," but I considered "movie" anaffectation. Most of these words go back to the '50s, buthere's a pure-'60s word I came across the other day -"rat fink." Ooh, what a nasty put-down! Here's a word Imiss - "percolator." That was just a fun word to say. Andwhat was it replaced with? "Coffee maker." How dull. Mr.Coffee, I blame you for this.I miss those made-up marketing words that weremeant to sound so modern and now sound so retro.Words like "DynaFlow" and "Electrolux." Introducing the1963 Admiral TV, now with "SpectraVision!" Food forthought - Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago?Nobody complains of that anymore. Maybe that's whatcastor oil cured, because I never hear mothers threateningkids with castor oil anymore. Some words aren'tgone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The onethat grieves me most "supper." Now everybody says"dinner." Save a great word. Invite someone to supper.Discuss fender skirts.CIA Job OpeningThe CIA had an opening for an assassin. After all thebackground checks, interviews and testing were done,there were 3 finalists...2 men and a woman For the finaltest, the CIA agents took one of the men to a large metaldoor and handed him a gun. "We must know that youwill follow your instructions, no matter what the circumstances.Inside this room, you will find your wife sitting ina chair. Kill her!” The man said, "You can't be serious. Icould never shoot my wife." The agent said, "Thenyou're not the right man for this job. Take your wife andgo home. "The second man was given the same instructions.He took the gun and went into the room. All wasquiet for about five minutes. Then the man came outwith tears in his eyes. "I tried, but I can't kill my wife."The agent said, "You don't have what it takes. Takeyour wife and go home. "Finally, it was the woman'sturn. She was given the same instructions to kill her husband.She took the gun and went into the room. Shotswere heard, one shot after another, eight in a row. Theyheard screaming, crashing, and banging on the walls.After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door openedslowly and there stood the woman. She wiped the sweatfrom her brow. "This gun is loaded with blanks," shesaid. "I had to beat him to death with the chair."Moral: Never put a woman to the test34 • September 2007
Interesting Word TwisterThe Breeding BullHUMORSee if you can figure out what these words have in common:BananaDresserGrammarPotatoReviveUnevenAssessCome on….give it another try .Ok..... Answers at botom of pageSister Of St. FrancisA man is driving down a deserted stretch of highway when henotices a sign out of the corner of his eye....It reads: SISTERSOF ST. FRANCIS HOUSE OF PROSTITUTION 10 MILESHe thinks this is a figment of his imagination and drives onwithout second thought.... Soon he sees another sign whichreads: SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS HOUSE OF PROSTITUTION5 MILESSuddenly he begins to realize that these signs are for real anddrives past a third sign saying:SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS HOUSE OF PROSTITUTION NEXTRIGHTHis curiosity gets the best of him and he pulls into the drive.On the far side of the parking lot is a stone building with asmall sign next to the door reading: SISTERS OF ST. FRANCISHe climbs the steps and rings the bell. The door is answeredby a nun in a long black habit who asks, "What may we do foryou my son?" He answers, "I saw your signs along the highwayand was interested in possibly doing business...." "Verywell my son. Please follow me." He is led through many windingpassages and is soon quite disoriented. The nun stops at aclosed door and tells the man, "Please knock on this door." Hedoes so and another nun in a long habit, holding a tin cupanswers the door... This nun instructs, "Please place $100 inthe cup then go through the large wooden door at the end ofthe hallway." He puts $100 in the cup, eagerly trots down thehall and slips through the door pulling it shut behind him. Thedoor locks, and he finds himself back in the parking lot facinganother sign: GO IN PEACE. YOU HAVE JUST BEENSCREWED BY THE SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS. SERVES YOURIGHT, YOU SINNER!A man took his wife to the rodeo and one of their firststops was the breeding bull exhibit. They went up to thefirst pen and there was a sign attached that said, "Thisbull mated 50 times last year." The wife playfully nudgedher husband in the ribs and said, "See . He mated 50times last year ... once-a-week." They walked to thesecond pen which had a sign attached that said, "Thisbull mated 120 times last year." The wife gave her husbanda healthy jab and said, "That's more than twice aweek! You could learn a lot from him." They walked tothe third pen and it had a sign attached that said, incapital letters, "This bull mated 365 times last year." Thewife, so excited that her elbow nearly broke her husband'sribs, said, that's once-a-DAY. You could REALLYlearn something from this one." The husband looked ather and said, "Go over and ask him if it was with thesame cow."NOTE: The husband's condition has been upgradedfrom critical to stable and the doctors say after monthsof rehab and a couple more operations he will be ok.Yearly PhysicalYesterday I went to the doctor for my yearly physical.My blood pressure was high, my cholesterol was high,I'd gained some weight, and I didn't feel so hot.My doctor said eating right doesn't have to be complicatedand it would solve my physical problems. He saidjust think in colors; Fill your plate with bright colors:greens, yellows, reds, etc. I went right home and ate anentire bowl of M&M's and sure enough, I felt betterimmediately. I never knew eating right could be so easy.figure it out?word backwards, it will be the same word. Did youplace it at the end of the word, and then spell theIn all of the words listed, if you take the first letter,Answer To Word TwisterSeptember 2007 • 35