A group of guys came aboard my charter boat early one morning, each lugging the usual gear … tackle box, fishing rods, and a cooler full of grub.
Knowing this charter was to be all about fishing, I did a double take when I noticed one gent had a pair of swim fins on top of his tackle box.
His buddies were doing a double take, too, which suggested they had driven separately and didn’t know about the out-of-place swim fins. No one said a word about them, at least for a while.
I listened carefully to the group, as did Capt. Tiffany Vague my deckhand.
It quickly became obvious that the guy with the swim fins was the jokester of the group, as they settled in and got their bearings. That may help explain why no one was saying anything about the obvious oddity.
Finally, and predictably, one of his buddies couldn’t help himself and asked, “What did you bring the swim fins for? We’re going fishing.”
It being a fair question, everyone fell silent in anticipation of a good answer that made any kind of sense.
The feller slowly and casually replied, “Oh, these are in case the boat goes down and we’re all in the water with a shark around.”
Everyone chuckled and then went about their business, assuming the jokester was satisfied with himself. I had a hunch there was more coming.
A little more time went by, and the same impatient guy said, “If this boat goes down and we’re all in the water with a shark, you do realize that you aren’t going to outswim that shark even with them swim fins, right?”
That’s when I realized the jokester had been setting them up for the real punchline, which was delivered with a wry smile when he said, “If we’re both in the water, I won’t have to outswim that shark. I’ll only have to outswim you!”
His group all groaned loudly, knowing they had been set up masterfully by the patient and skilled jokester. Now he truly seemed satisfied with himself.
Tiffany came up on the bridge and whispered, “I think I like this group.”
I replied, “Yeah, either that, or this is going to be a very long day. Que sera sera.”
