Jelly

Jelly

“What the heck? Why is this jelly jar so sticky?” said Sam to his roommate.

“Oh sorry, “Russ said, “I had a little trouble getting the cover on.”

“How? You line up the thread with the jar and twist…”

“Well, first I had trouble getting the jelly back in the jar, so then it was all smooshy.”

“Why were you putting jelly back in the jar?”

“I had too much in the bowl.”

“What bowl?”

“You know the bowl you put the jelly in.”

“Why would you put the jelly in a bowl?”

“Well… that’s how my mother always did it…”

Sam looked at Russ, “She put the jelly on the table in a bowl, is that it?”

“Yeah, didn’t you do it that way?”

“So, let me get this straight, everybody stuck their crumb covered, probably occasionally licked, knives into the same blob of jelly in a bowl on the table?”

“Ah, yeah… I guess...”

“Try this scenario,” said Sam, “Your mother had five kids, she was probably on a pretty tight budget. So, she takes the allotment of jelly for one day out of the jar and puts it in a bowl on the table so the jelly will last all week.”

Russ looked shocked! “So that’s why I never got much! I hardly got any till my older sisters decided to watch their weight and gave up jelly!

“Right, I bet your mother never had jelly left over to put back in the jar.”

“Probably not, I certainly never left any. So, now what, we just get to dip our knives right into the jar?”

“That’s the joy of being a grown-up! Ah… but not if you lick your knife…”