As Gus and I walked across the Fruitworks grounds, this guy came out of the entrance to the protein sprayer room. Gus waved him over and he introduced himself with an air of officiousness as Carl Willis Tonteboute, and added, "But my friends call me CW."
I quipped, "Whatchoo talking 'bout, Willis?"
He stared at me blankly for a few seconds, then said, "What?"
"I'm sorry, I was just...uh...making a joke."
"Oh, okay. Go ahead."
"Uh...well...the joke was there was this television show and that was the catchphrase from it - Whatchoo talkin' 'bout...um...Willis? Not ringing any bells?"
CW and Gus looked at each other, then Gus said, "Are you sure you know what a joke is?"
CW said, "I've got a joke. Why did the snarkle fall out of the tree? Mating season was over!"
I quipped, "Whatchoo talking 'bout, Willis?"
He stared at me blankly for a few seconds, then said, "What?"
"I'm sorry, I was just...uh...making a joke."
"Oh, okay. Go ahead."
"Uh...well...the joke was there was this television show and that was the catchphrase from it - Whatchoo talkin' 'bout...um...Willis? Not ringing any bells?"
CW and Gus looked at each other, then Gus said, "Are you sure you know what a joke is?"
CW said, "I've got a joke. Why did the snarkle fall out of the tree? Mating season was over!"
CW and Gus roared with laughter.
The takeaway: know your audience.