No pun? Not done!

“If it doesn’t have a pun, it’s not done.” Yup, I actually said that to my class today. I have a group of five men that regularly attend a midday, 90-minute class. Four of them come from the same housing area, and three of them frequently hang out together. They are academically ambitious, so I enjoy challenging their senses of humor with clean memes and puns. It’s probably more accurate to say that I challenge their patience, but since that’s par for the course with anyone that groans at puns, I’d say, “Mission accomplished!”

There are rules in place at work that restrict the number of memes that I can display in my classroom windows, because outside visibility must be kept open for safety and security reasons. Therefore, I use discretion and careful planning when posting my pictures to maximize the humorous effects (along with the occasional inspirational ones) without interfering with facility directives. I get a kick out of my students’ reactions, especially the delayed ones, and do my best to choose memes that will offer the greatest groan, guffaw, or gasp without crossing the bounds of propriety.

The fun today included rattling off a series of puns that were concluded with my zippy statement above. Moments later, one of the men asked to borrow a ruler, which led me to say as I handed it over, “I’m sorry, but they don’t make these any longer.” As he groaned and walked away, I asked if he was “inching back to his desk,” or if he “wanted me to measure my words more carefully.” He sat down a glared at me. A few puns later, one of his buddies rode to the rescue.

“How much does the Sesto Elemento cost?” he queried.

“I’ll have to look it up,” I replied. I googled it. “$2.2 mill.”

“That’s all?” He continued the conversation a minute or two longer before striking up a chat with one of the other men next to him.

“Nice diversion,” I said. He ignored me. “Got tired of the puns, did you?” He glanced my way. “You know, I can make a pun on almost anything. Drive the conversation where I want it to go. Exhaust it. Grill you on it, that sort of thing.” He rolled his eyes. I laughed out loud. “If it doesn’t have a pun, it’s not done.” And I laughed again.