A man walked into a bar… but forget about him. Let’s talk about Audrey. After a demoralizing week at work, all she wanted — nay, deserved — was a night of drunken commiseration with her best friend, Marissa, but did she get it? No! Of all the happy hours, she had to pick the one swarming with bar joke characters. “This is horrible!” she shouted. “I can barely hear you with all of these punchlines walking around!” “Could be worse!” Marissa shouted back. “We could be punchlines ourselves!” “Well, that’s true!” Audrey replied, oddly encouraged. Marissa was right: she wasn’t a punchline; she was just a woman with a terrible, terrible job. Audrey smiled. Next week will be much better, she thought. I know it. She then took a sip of her half-priced beer and watched as a priest, a rabbi and Richard Dawkins slipped in through the side entrance.

© 2014 Tony Vicory.