The Old Ones Are The Best
“What’s black and white and red all over?” Luke’s started riffing on the joke book, so I prepare my laughter.
“Don’t know. What is black, white and red all over?”
“A newspaper” shouts Matty. He’s read the book too.
“Ha. No!” Getting a point against your brother is always a joy. “I’ll give you a clue: cowboy movies.” He waits a beat, then announces in triumph, “A cowboy after he’s been shot!”
I can see Matty preparing to argue, but it’s actually funny… and for once I’m ready to deflect. “Good one! Let’s have Oreo ice cream with strawberry sauce.”
Extroduction
I occasionally take a photo with FF in mind but I always forget to send them; Rochelle’s call for pictures makes me think I must hunt some of them down.
My story this week took a lot of editing to fit the 100 word limit and has lost a bit of Mom’s internal monologue as a consequence, but I enjoy writing stories about this family, who are often a little like mine. I hope you enjoy them too – there are lots of other Luke and Matty stories on my blog, so if you are interested click on the tag or drop their names into the search box for more snippets about them.
elmowrites 
There must be two dozen answers to that joke. Well done, Elmo.
Absolutely! It’s an old one, but poor Matty hasn’t seen it’s a trap!
Sibling dialog is so much fun. Great example of that here.
Thanks Dawn. Yes, siblings are the best (and the worst!) aren’t they?
Yes they are! lol
Very realistic dialogue, and a wee chuckle. Nicely done.
Cheers, Iain, I’m glad it gave you a chuckle too.
Yep, the ice cream was the best choice.
Absolutely. Tastier than blood or newspaper for sure.
Delicious one, Elmo 🙂
Oreo ice-cream with strawberry! Yummy 🙂
Indeed. Mom’s definitely got the best answer to this one
Great story, Elmo and telling jokes are such a part of childhood.
Best wishes,
Rowena
It really is… I lauding the part where you grt them wrong or they really aren’t funny in the first place!
Dear Jen,
What’s black and whilte and black and white and black and white? A nun rolling down a hill. Very grade school humor from my grade school days. 😉 Your story reminded me of the silly jokes we used to tell. Fun.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Haha, love it! Although she’d be black white and muddy by the bottom of our local hills at the moment – big thaw here!
We all love our grade school humour don’t we?
Jen
Kids! and their one-upmanship! You caught that very well in your story.
Almost as if I’m exposed to it on the daily! Thanks for your comment
I loved the quirky answer to the joke. Flash fiction does take a lot of editing but it so instructive for my writing. Looking forward to reading more of Luke and Matty.
Thanks. And I’m glad you liked the boys, they are favourite characters of mine!
I imagine us writers do develop favourites over time
Joke trading is part and parcel for kids growing up, that joke is an innocent one. Their mom is cool for playing along with the oreos and berry sauce.
Thanks Ms J! I still remember a few of these jokes from my childhood, but now my boys have a book, so I’m getting lots of new ones too!
You’re welcome.
It is great fun writing about kids 🙂
Isn’t it just?
Love mom’s idea of a desert!
Thanks!
Your boys are blessed to have a mom with a sense of humor!
i’d go for ice cream, too. 🙂
A lovely family scene. Well done.
I love the jokes between the siblings. Quite amusing. Nice one. 👍