Judge:  “So, can you pick out one of the photos and explain to me why it’s funny?  What about this one with the goat? Is that funny?  You seem to be having some trouble deciding.”

Defendant:  “Well, they’re all funny, I’m just having a hard time finding one where I can explain the humor to you, your honor.”

That lead into something I hadn’t thought about in 25 years, Bob Willis finding a philosophy book in the Folsom library about humor, with several pages of very dry, serious text to explain the joke:

First man:  “What time is it?”

Second man:  “Now?”

First man:  “Yes.” 

Well, from that point on, at any mention of time, any joke, and sometime just out of the blue, “Now?” and “could you explain that joke to me?” would set everyone off in fits of laughter. 

Another, more ad-hoc example.  Marty was telling everyone about listening to WRPI, the college radio station, as he arrived in Troy.  It was an interview with a women who was explaining that more geniuses are born today than ever before due to two genetic tracers that were showing up more and more often it today’s children. 

Marty:  “I was thinking it was surprising I hadn’t heard about it  before when the woman added that most of the children also shared a near-death experience before they were five.”  (interruption from laughter).  “Then she added a warning for parents…”

Eric (breaking in):  “Be very careful not to actually kill your child when you hold his head in the bucket of water.” (long interruption from laughter).

Marty:  “No, no, the warning was not to be too concerned about the extra sensory perception.”  (very long interruption from laughter).  “Then she explained how this is in preparation for the fourth earth to merge into the fifth earth, and how the Lord of the Rings books are an excellent road map to prepare for the transition as that was about the third age of middle earth ending and the fourth beginning.” (more laughter)

Dave:  “Marty, it’s not too late for you, Katherine is young enough, but my kids are too old.  Still, it’s never too late to have a near-death experience.”  (more… well, you get the idea).

There’s that old adage about “you had to be there,” and I’m sure that’s true in this case as well; the jokes were probably not as funny and witty as they seemed at the time, and the day could probably not be broken up into hour long segments and sold as the comedy equivalent of “24.”  But, if you are there, perception is reality, and who knows, maybe the next reunion, we’ll have to have a camera crew follow us around and see. 

Marty had to leave Friday afternoon, but Bob Willis showed up shortly thereafter, and Shawn Bilodeau joined us for most of Saturday.  We also had a virtual experience with Sherilee Host on Sunday where, sad to say, she hardly mocked us at all.

We didn’t do many of the planned activities; actually, other than one lunch at the new Biotechnology center, we didn’t do any.  The luau Friday night looked kind of fun, but we were having a great time just catching up and didn’t need the noise and distraction.  There’d been some discussion about possibly marching in the parade of classes, but it was raining, a cold, nasty drizzle that followed Friday’s downpours, and we all agreed that hanging out in the Student Union was more the quintessential RPI experience anyway.  The class dinner required dressing up… clearly, not in the cards.  That doesn’t mean we didn’t share meaningful experiences with other RPI grads while we where there.  On arrival, and to the shock of both parties, we found out that we were sharing rooms in Davidson Hall with other people.  Except for Bob, of course, who had asked to be housed in Barton Hall, the Taj Mahal of the RPI freshman dorms (the rest of us didn’t even think of asking).  As part of his opportunity to rub in his better accommodations, Bob told a story about staying with someone that would wake up in the middle of the night, scream “PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!!!,” then go back to sleep.  That started an entire new line of jokes that had us cracking up for hours.  But we didn’t spend much time in our rooms anyway.  My roommate, Gary, introduced himself as class of ’76, and seemed like a nice enough guy.

I have to admit, I felt a little guilty about not participating in more of the activities.  It is not like it’s just about the people; it was great to see the campus, recall the places and events that shaped the entire college experience, and to see where RPI is going in the future.  But it’s the shared moments that really hit home, that make the details of someone else’s life following those days fascinating to listen too, that make you laugh until you pee in your pants.  Figuratively speaking, of course.  

Weird sightings

I can't even guess what this is

Hey!  They're burning down the freshman dorms!

The new Performing Arts Center.  It's huge, it's expensive, and no zombie virus breeding vats are included.  What, is RPI going all touchy-feely all of a sudden?

• Eric checks out the rules to Caylus before we decide to avoid brain damage
• Eric explains why his son's broken arm is a good thing
• Shawn fills us in on the last twenty five years.
• The secret of Caramel Corn.
• Closing ceremonies.