Q: What happened to the guy who sued over his missing luggage? A: He lost his case.

Tickling the Ivories

When a new family moved in next door, their two young daughters, ages 5 and 7, came to my house to say hello. As soon as the little girls entered my living room, they were immediately drawn to my baby grand piano. “Would you like to play it?” I asked.

The sisters excitedly sat down together on the piano bench but didn’t make any attempt to touch the keys. Instead, they both seemed to be searching for something.

Finally the older girl looked at me and tearfully exclaimed, “We can’t find the switch to turn on your piano!”

CAROLYN BOLZ

Riverside, California

Perfect Punctuation

When I was a proofreader, I shared with my co-workers this example to illustrate how writing can skew based on gender: A professor wrote on the blackboard, “Woman without her man is nothing.” The students were instructed to insert the proper punctuation. The men wrote, “Woman, without her man, is nothing.” The women wrote, “Woman! Without her, man is nothing.”

SUSAN ALLEN Oil or IRS?

Several years ago when I worked at the county library, we had racks of tax forms set up during tax season to help patrons. One day a lady walked in and obviously needed some help. She said her husband sent her in to get a “10W40” form. We puzzled over whether she wanted a W-2 or a 1040, or whether she just needed to go to the auto parts store!

JANET MCMURRIN

Harrison, Arkansas

Going Incognito

Grandma was showing her 8-year-old granddaughter the newest addition to the farm, a black-and-white Pinto pony. “Oh look!” squealed the child. “He’s wearing cow camouflage!”

BRENDA HANSEN

Clintonville, Wisconsin