"Monday 5 Things" with D. Paul Graham

.....No Loss of Words.....
D. Paul Graham,

Monday 5 Things…..No Loss of Words…..

Mark Twain wrote that “Repartee is something we think of twenty-four hours too late.” Frustrated with a mild case of a loss of words from writer’s block in a week that simply just got away from me, I reached back into the M5T archives and updated this missive. Today’s M5T is thankful for the witty repartee of these people who weren’t at a loss for words in the moment.

1. Calvin Coolidge.

The 30th President of the United States was known as 'Silent Cal' from his reputation as a man of few words. While seated at a dinner party next to poet and satirist Dorothy Parker, Parker said to him, "Mr. Coolidge, I've made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you." Coolidge replied, "You lose".

2. Pope John XXIII.

With pontifical wit and a sense of humor, the Pope showed his papal funny side when a journalist asked him, "How many people work at the Vatican?"
The Pope replied, "About half".

3. Mohammad Ali.

On an Eastern Airlines flight in the 1970’s Cassius refused to fasten his seat belt, saying, “Superman don’t need no seat belt”, to which the flight attendant replied, “Superman don’t need no airplane either.”

4. The British Bulldog.

At a weekend dinner party at Blenheim Palace, the first female MP in the British Parliament, Lady Nancy Astor, who was seated beside a rather inebriated Winston Churchill, said out loud "Winston, if you were my husband, I'd put poison in your coffee." Churchill calmly retorted: "Nancy, if you were my wife, I'd drink it."

5. Robert Benchley.

The humorist was leaving the Algonquin Hotel and asked the man in uniform, “would you get me a taxi my good man?” The man replied that he was not the doorman and in fact was an Admiral in the US Navy. Without missing a beat Benchley replied, “perfectly all right, just get me a battleship then.”

Here’s to a week of being in the moment with perfect timing of quick wit and just the right words.

© 2020 D. Paul Graham, all rights reserved.

D. Paul Graham is passionate about people, culture, photography and business. He has embraced his wanderlust with his travels around the globe and is at peace with his need for spirited drives in all things automotive.

You can find M5T each Monday here on www.southmag.com and by friending D. Paul Graham on Facebook. Paul is also a contributing photographer to South Magazine. His photographic work can be found on Instagram @dpgraham and at www.imageGRAHAM.com . Your feedback is always welcome. Email Paul at dpg@imagegraham.com

Related