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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>All – <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Your discussion of the Santa Fe Plaza riots – 13 dead, 27 wounded -- for some reason reminded me of the following. Since I could think of no connection between the two, I did NOT append it to the thread. See, I am learning. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Though my father told few jokes, he told them frequently, and we kids always urged him to tell them even more, because they made absolutely no sense, what so ever. I guess we thought at each new telling that this would be the time we would finally get the joke. Here’s one of my favorites, best attached to some historical conversation and told in a deep, sonorous, reflective tone, as if voicing a documentary. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=quotation>As you know, when George Washington was fighting the battle of Valley Forge, he was often billeted in the homes of local farmers, hence the fact that all over south eastern Pennsylvania, old houses are decorated with signs that say, “George Washington Slept Here.” Now on this particular occasion, dinner had been consumed and the general was standing by the open fire, puffing on his pipe, when he happened to espy a large cat, dozing on the hearth. Without hesitation, Washington strode across the hearth and kicked the living daylights out of the cat. Awed by this display, the master of the house inquired, “General Washington, why did you kick that cat?” Now, as you know, Washington was idolized by the citizens and thought to be a man of great wisdom, so the family gathered around, ready to hear what the great man said. He said (and I quote):<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Algerian'>I always kick a cat when I get a chance because, whenever I want to kick a cat, there’s never a cat around to kick.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Nicholas Thompson<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Clark University<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="mailto:ThompNickSon2@gmail.com">ThompNickSon2@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/">https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>