Good joke gone bad

In life, I think most people would agree that “sense of humor” is a rare and desirable asset. Let’s face it, not everyone is funny, and when you meet someone who really makes you laugh, you can’t help but admire that person and marvel at the things that come out of their mouths.

Indeed, when you have a sense of humor, there is nothing more satisfying than the unmitigated glee that comes from making someone laugh; but, as any good comedian knows, for every good joke you make, there will be just as many (if not more) bad jokes to follow it, and if you are smart, you will make a mental note of these so as to never say them again.

When I strike out (I am still talking about jokes here), I follow my own advice and attempt to mentally drop the offending joke from my line up; however, despite what you may be thinking, I am not perfect, and some things have been known to slip through.

Today was a perfect example of this.

Being an avid Gap/Old Navy shopper, people often tell me that they too own whatever sweater/shirt/cod piece I might be wearing that day. Nothing too unusual; and a normal person would just smile at this news or make a knowing remark about how much they love it; but as you may have deciphered, I am not a normal person.

Subsequently, I usually end up saying:

“Gee, we should plan a day to both wear it, but then…how would they tell us apart?”

Inevitably, an uncomfortable pause ensues, followed by an awkward, pity-fueled laugh by the other person after I wink at them and say, “Get it?! You have blond hair, and I have dark hair, and you know, we look so different….”

Then I am left standing there, like a moron, working to once again recover from the echoing failure the is my “look-alike” joke.

Oh bad “look-alike joke,” why can’t I quit you?!