At 55, a woman suddenly traded her daily temple visits for the local swimming pool, sparking a wave of curiosity. When neighbors finally asked about this sudden change in interest, she offered a helpless look and a surprising explanation. “Every time my son and his wife argue,” she sighed, “my daughter-in-law asks him, ‘If your mom and I both fell into the water, who would you save first?’ I don’t want to put my son in that impossible position, so I’m learning to swim!”
A few days later, the inevitable quarrel erupted. The daughter-in-law posed the dreaded question: “Tell me now! If your mom and I fall into the water, who do you save first?”
The husband didn’t miss a beat. “I don’t even have to get wet,” he replied calmly. “My mom knows how to swim now—she’ll save you.”
Refusing to let him off the hook, the wife pressed on, “No! You have to jump in and save one of us. Who is it?”
The husband shrugged. “Then you’re definitely in trouble… because I never learned to swim, and my mom is definitely going to save me first!”
In another part of town, a little old lady tried to reach her local bank branch but found herself trapped in the maze of a modern call center.
“Is this the High Street branch?” she asked hopefully.
“No, madam,” the operator replied formally. “Company policy dictates that all calls are now handled centrally.”
The lady persisted, insisting she really needed to speak to the local branch directly. The operator, trying to be efficient, was adamant: “Madam, tell me your query. I assure you there is nothing the branch can do that I cannot handle from here.”
The old lady sighed, finally giving in. “Very well then, young man. Could you just lean over and check the counter for me? I think I left my gloves behind when I was in there this morning!”
