Sunday, August 14, 2005

Lena (restored) and a Joke


Lena (restored)
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.
I posted a tattered photo of my paternal grandmother, Alexandra Langer Epstein (called "Lena" in the US) on flickr and someone with skills at photo touch-up and restoration fixed it up. This reminded me of a joke that Buddy Hackett told years ago on the Tonight Show:

An elderly lady climbs the stairs to a shop where photos are restored. She shows the owner a old sepia photo of her late husband. (Imagine she has a Yiddish accent--it has nothing to do with the story, it's just funnier that way.) "I have this picture of mine late 'usband. It's a bit tattered. You can fix?"

"Surely, madam," the owner replies.

"You'll notice he's wearing a double-breasted suit. No one wears a suit like that anymore. You can change?"

"Yes, madam."

"And you'll notice he's wearing a derby 'at. Can you take that away? No one wears a derby hat anymore."

"Yes, madam. How did your husband wear his hair?"

"You'll take off the hat and see!"

The guy who restored the photo didn't find this joke particularly funny. I guess that's what makes comedy complicated!

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