Flaming Duck

First Post

Question: Why does a duck have flat feet?
Answer: Makes it easier to stamp out forest fires.

Question: Why does an elephant have flat feet?
Answer: Makes it easier to stamp out burning ducks!

Welcome to The Flaming Duck; my foray into blogging. In many ways, this blog is a reaction to the first blogs that I read. Some of them were really wacked out. I wondered what would make someone want to expose such intimate feelings in such a public manner. I am not going to name specific blogs but they really were different! And I mean scary different. Luckily, I did a little more research and found that there actually are some "regular" people with blogs (and that helped to salvage my perception of the blogosphere). I hope that you find that I am one of those "regulars."

So just to prove that I am really normal, I started this blog with my all time favorite joke. I always tell it as an "elephant joke". Sometimes it makes a big hit and sometimes it falls flat. Sometimes I am asked to write it down so it can be retold. And sometimes the recipient doesn't even understand it. But mostly I just think the joke works. It is a truly great joke because it works on so many levels. I do plan on expanding on this thought a little later but for now, I just want to tie the joke to the name of this blog.

Imagine for a moment, that you are the duck. The day has been rough. Three forest fires, a couple of bears saved, one cabin salvaged (the owner was mighty grateful) and now you are fighting the biggest fire of your life. Then suddenly it all goes wrong! Your tail catches fire when the wind changes. The pain is excruciating! You are running around, (like a chicken with your head cut off) trying to put out the flames when suddenly an ominous shadow overtakes you. For a moment, a tiny moment, the shadow becomes more important than your flaming tail and then, WHAM! An elephant foot “assists” you in putting out the fire.

Sometimes I just feel like that duck. Only doing what you're supposed to be doing and then something totally unexpected happens. But that's the way life goes, doesn't it! But what I like best about the joke is that it leaves so many questions unanswered. Did evolution really devise flat feet to put out forest fires? Could an elephant catch a duck? Did the elephant really "help" or did he just squash the duck? So this blog is really about questions. Some I have answers for, some I don’t. But asking the question is the most important part.

posted by VARepublicMan @ 5:00 PM