Pulling a Henry

April 13, 2007

Several times while blogging I have wanted to use the term “pulling a Henry” but have refrained due to Jeremiah’s fear I might hurt the actual Henry’s feelings a bit. Henry is our brother-in-law and pictured above. Henry lives with the strong (very strong) belief that a bad joke is better than no joke at all. In other words, Henry tells a lot of bad jokes that bomb. He is completely aware of this and I believe is more likely to tell the joke if it is going to bomb. There is a sense of pride in his voice when he shares the joke, as if it is his very own super power! It is truly an endearing, yet sometimes confusing, characteristic. From this behavior, I coined the term “pulled a Henry.” Jeremiah is also a lover of bad joke telling, although not nearly as committed as Henry. So, a few months ago when Jeremiah would assault me with a lame joke, my response was, “Wow, you just pulled a Henry.” This became our own joke until a few weeks ago when we told Henry and the rest of Jeremiah’s family about the term. It caught on quite quickly and within a few days his own wife was using it. So, I am thinking, why not let it catch on abroad. Please anytime you hear someone tell a bad joke (they must also be aware and proud of the fact that they are telling the bad joke) tell them they pulled a Henry. We are wanting this to catch on worldwide. Just say it a few times out loud. It really rolls off of the tongue. And we know everyone has a Henry, so spread the word!

Posted in Family