Unfortunate Humor

Earlier this summer, I read "A Series of Unfortunate Events," and while the caricatured nature of the events and people annoyed me at times, I did really like Lemony Snicket's writing style, so much so that I've used several of his quotes as taglines in my Gmail account. The quote I currently have is from his book The Slippery Slope, and is thus:

"A man of my acquaintance once wrote a poem called "The Road Less Traveled", describing a journey he took through the woods along a path most travelers never used. The poet found that the road less traveled was peaceful but quite lonely, and he was probably a bit nervous as he went along, because if anything happened on the road less traveled, the other travelers would be on the road more frequently traveled and so couldn't hear him as he cried for help. Sure enough, that poet is dead."

Lots of other people seem to enjoy these quotes too, and I've gotten lots of comments on them. Last night, I had the following conversation with my friend Dave, of orange soda bath fame, with reference tot he quote:

Dave: that's great.
only it's not about the road less travelled

me: please expound

Dave: that poem
isn't even called that
it's called the road not taken

me: ah. I see.
Take it up with Lemony Snicket.

Dave: ...which is the other road. I think it has more to do with the making of decisions than it does with the forging of new paths.
already have

me: what did he say?

Dave: he shot at me with a gun
and told me if i ever came back to his bedroom in the middle of the night again, he'd forge a path from my backside to my cranium with his foot

me: Oh, Dave. Why did you choose the middle of the night to discuss such a topic with a man who writes books in seires called things like "A Series of Unfortunate Events?"

Dave: just seemed fitting

Good conversation starters can be found in the oddest places.