After a number of attempts to get the customer service agent on the phone to understand his name, my Asian American friend Appappa finally decided that spelling it out would be easier. \u201cA for apple,\u201d he began. \u201cP for pineapple, P for pineapple, A for apple, P for pineapple, P for\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
The flustered agent interrupted him before he could finish.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a better idea,\u201d she said. \u201cJust tell me how many apples and how many pineapples.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Johnny wasn\u2019t very good at spelling. One day, during a spelling exam, the teacher wrote the word \u201cnew\u201d on the blackboard.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow,\u201d she asked Johnny, \u201cwhat word would we have if we placed a \u2018K\u2019 in the front?\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnny stared at the word for several seconds, thinking as hard as he could. Finally, he confidently answered, \u201cCanoe?\u201d<\/p>\n
Before setting off on a business trip to Tulsa, I called the hotel where I\u2019d be staying to see if they had a gym. The hotel receptionist\u2019s sigh had a definite tinge of exasperation in it when she answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have over 300 guests at this facility,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
I paused, then asked, \u201cDoes this \u2018Jim\u2019 have a last name?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake came rushing in to his dad, puffing and out of breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cIs it true that an apple a day keeps the doctor away?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what they say,\u201d his dad replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, give me an apple quick!\u201d<\/p>\n
His dad looked at him suspiciously. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake pointed toward the street.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just broken the doctor\u2019s window!\u201d<\/p>\n
Customers can be so innocent that sometimes even the simplest questions turn into something completely unexpected.<\/p>\n
Customer: \u201cI\u2019ve been ringing 0700-2300 for two days and can\u2019t get through to enquiries. Can you help?\u201d<\/p>\n
Operator: \u201cWhere did you get the number from, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n
Customer: \u201cIt was on the door to the Travel Centre.\u201d<\/p>\n
Operator: \u201cSir, those are our opening and closing hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
A prince was put under a spell so powerful that he could speak only one word each year.<\/p>\n
If he didn\u2019t speak for two years, however, the following year he could speak two words. If he remained silent for three years, he would eventually have three words to use, and so on.<\/p>\n
One day, the prince fell deeply in love with a beautiful lady. He immediately decided that he would save his precious words so he could eventually tell her how he felt. He refrained from speaking for two whole years so that he could call her, \u201cMy darling.\u201d<\/p>\n
But as the second year ended, he realized that simply calling her \u201cmy darling\u201d wouldn\u2019t be enough. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, so he waited three more years, carefully guarding every word.<\/p>\n
At the end of those five years, he knew he wanted to ask her to marry him. But that would require even more words. So he waited another four years, enduring year after year of silence while the woman he loved remained completely unaware of what he was planning.<\/p>\n
Finally, as the ninth year of silence came to an end, the prince took the lady by the hand and led her to the most romantic place in the kingdom. The moon was shining, the stars were bright, and he knew that this was the moment he had been waiting for.<\/p>\n
After nine years of silence, he finally had all the words he needed.<\/p>\n
He looked deeply into her eyes and said, \u201cMy darling, I love you! Will you marry me?\u201d<\/p>\n
The lady stared at him for a moment, completely puzzled.<\/p>\n
Then she smiled politely and said, \u201cPardon?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After a number of attempts to get the customer service agent on the phone to understand his name, my Asian American friend Appappa finally decided that spelling it out would be easier. \u201cA for apple,\u201d he began. \u201cP for pineapple, P for pineapple, A for apple, P for pineapple, P for\u2014\u201d The flustered agent interrupted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":34424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tales"],"yoast_head":"\n