Friday is the day off for many Pastors. As such, it is a day for running errands, shopping, and handling various odds and ends. About once a month, for me at least, this also includes getting a haircut.
As this is on my agenda for the coming week, it brought to my memory a story once told by President Ronald Reagan. Since we all need a good laugh as regularly as we need a haircut, I thought I would share it here today. It seems that...
A man walked into a barber shop one day and the barber said to him, “Have you had a good day?” The man said, “I sure have. I entered a sales contest at my office and won first prize.” The barber responded, “You did? What did you win?” The man replied, “I won a free trip to Rome, Italy.”
The barber said to him, “Rome is the worst city in the world to visit. Everything is unclean and the people are unfriendly. You are going to have a miserable time.”
The barber then asked, “How are you going to get there?” The man replied, “I’m flying TWA.” The barber responded, “That’s the worst airline in the world. You’re liable to get out over the Atlantic and have the wings fall off of that thing.”
The barber then asked, “Where are you going to stay when you get to Rome?” The man replied, “At the Intercontinental Hotel.” The barber responded, “That’s the worst hotel in Rome. The food is terrible and the service is worse.”
Then the barber said, “I suppose you’re going to try to see the Pope while you’re there?” The man replied, “Sure, I am.” The barber then said, “That’s the worst idea of all. There will be hundreds of thousands of people there. If the Pope is even in town, he’ll be so far away you won’t even be able to recognize him.”
To say the least, that conversation dampened the spirits of the man for the rest of that day. However, he made his trip to Rome and met his barber on the street about a month later. The barber then asked him, “How did your trip to Rome go?”
The man said, “It was great. Rome is the finest city I’ve ever visited and the people there were the nicest I’ve ever met.” The barber said, “Is that right? Well, how about that trip over on TWA?” The man replied, “It was as smooth as silk. It was like sitting in my lounge chair in my living room.”
The barber said, “Is that right? Well, how about that Intercontinental Hotel?” The man replied, “That’s the finest hotel I’ve ever stayed in in my life. The food was delicious and the service was even better.”
The barber then said, “Is that right? Well, how about the Pope? Did you see the Pope?” The man replied, “Yes, I saw the Pope. What’s more, I had a personal audience with the Pope.”
The barber replied, “You did?” The man said, “Yes, I did. And, what’s more, during that audience the Pope leaned over, put his hands on my head, and whispered in my ear.”
The barber said, “He did! What did he say?” The man replied, “He said, ‘That’s the worst haircut I’ve ever seen in my life!’”
Fortunately, my barber does not such have a critical spirit. And to my knowledge, no one has ever yet looked at me and opined that I had the worst haircut they had ever seen.
But, if I would be honest, I myself have at times been a little too quick to criticize others. Perhaps you have as well. And for this reason alone, it is good for all of us to be reminded on occasion that what goes around comes around!
So, my friend, be careful not to cut up too often at another's expense. Or you may soon find that your cutting up gets you cut down to size in return!
SOURCE: Available widely on the internet. See, for instance, http://www.publicradio.org/applications/formbuilder/projects/joke_machine/joke
_page_iframe.php?car_id=1366855.
SEE ALSO: http://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/19/nyregion/notes-on-people-reagan-s-luncheon-joke-reconstructed.html?mcubz=0.
As this is on my agenda for the coming week, it brought to my memory a story once told by President Ronald Reagan. Since we all need a good laugh as regularly as we need a haircut, I thought I would share it here today. It seems that...
A man walked into a barber shop one day and the barber said to him, “Have you had a good day?” The man said, “I sure have. I entered a sales contest at my office and won first prize.” The barber responded, “You did? What did you win?” The man replied, “I won a free trip to Rome, Italy.”
The barber said to him, “Rome is the worst city in the world to visit. Everything is unclean and the people are unfriendly. You are going to have a miserable time.”
The barber then asked, “How are you going to get there?” The man replied, “I’m flying TWA.” The barber responded, “That’s the worst airline in the world. You’re liable to get out over the Atlantic and have the wings fall off of that thing.”
The barber then asked, “Where are you going to stay when you get to Rome?” The man replied, “At the Intercontinental Hotel.” The barber responded, “That’s the worst hotel in Rome. The food is terrible and the service is worse.”
Then the barber said, “I suppose you’re going to try to see the Pope while you’re there?” The man replied, “Sure, I am.” The barber then said, “That’s the worst idea of all. There will be hundreds of thousands of people there. If the Pope is even in town, he’ll be so far away you won’t even be able to recognize him.”
To say the least, that conversation dampened the spirits of the man for the rest of that day. However, he made his trip to Rome and met his barber on the street about a month later. The barber then asked him, “How did your trip to Rome go?”
The man said, “It was great. Rome is the finest city I’ve ever visited and the people there were the nicest I’ve ever met.” The barber said, “Is that right? Well, how about that trip over on TWA?” The man replied, “It was as smooth as silk. It was like sitting in my lounge chair in my living room.”
The barber said, “Is that right? Well, how about that Intercontinental Hotel?” The man replied, “That’s the finest hotel I’ve ever stayed in in my life. The food was delicious and the service was even better.”
The barber then said, “Is that right? Well, how about the Pope? Did you see the Pope?” The man replied, “Yes, I saw the Pope. What’s more, I had a personal audience with the Pope.”
The barber replied, “You did?” The man said, “Yes, I did. And, what’s more, during that audience the Pope leaned over, put his hands on my head, and whispered in my ear.”
The barber said, “He did! What did he say?” The man replied, “He said, ‘That’s the worst haircut I’ve ever seen in my life!’”
Fortunately, my barber does not such have a critical spirit. And to my knowledge, no one has ever yet looked at me and opined that I had the worst haircut they had ever seen.
But, if I would be honest, I myself have at times been a little too quick to criticize others. Perhaps you have as well. And for this reason alone, it is good for all of us to be reminded on occasion that what goes around comes around!
So, my friend, be careful not to cut up too often at another's expense. Or you may soon find that your cutting up gets you cut down to size in return!
SOURCE: Available widely on the internet. See, for instance, http://www.publicradio.org/applications/formbuilder/projects/joke_machine/joke
_page_iframe.php?car_id=1366855.
SEE ALSO: http://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/19/nyregion/notes-on-people-reagan-s-luncheon-joke-reconstructed.html?mcubz=0.