Harry Truman, when he was U.S President, once addressed the Washington Garden Club and kept referring to ‘good manure’ that must be used on flowers.
Some society ladies complained (later) to the First Lady Margaret Truman, “Bess, can’t you get the President to say fertilizer instead of manure?”
The First Lady replied, “Heavens, it took me 25 years to get him to say ‘manure’.”
I do the water and sewer billing for a small city in Washington State.
For years, customers complained about our postcard-sized bills — which they said looked too much like junk mail. So we decided to start sending full-sized bills in envelopes.
The month before the switch, I had a note printed on the cards, announcing the change.
Two days later, I heard someone yelling at our receptionist, “Is this some kind of joke?” When the customer threw his bill upon the desk, I saw his point. The note was,
“Coming soon! New Larger Bills!”
Things must be tougher in Washington than we imagine. Yesterday, the Treasury Department got a shut-off notice from the electric company.
Today, the C.I.A. reported that it discovered a leak in its secret affairs headquarters. All of Washington was in turmoil until a spokesman clarified the report by stating the leak was in a sink in the men’s room.
Rumor has it that Washington is going to solve the crime problem by legalizing mugging.