“I made a joke today, and I made it out of pennies. It was a very poor joke.”

“But a system made secure by the protective plating of humor and pretense always runs the risk of having its protection get out of hand. A relationship based on jokes invites jokes; jokes about anything -- and jokes about anything are now and then bound to cut too close to the truth.”

“If I made a joke about just dropping by, would you write me off as cliché?”

“Would like to join me? (Astrid)I think I’d look strange in a bikini. (Zarek)Was that a joke? Can it be you made a real joke? (Astrid)Yeah, I must be possessed or something. (Zarek)”

“Or if I truly gave up I could be like Wet Lindsay. When Robbie dumped her she got all pale and even wetter than normal. She was like an anoraksick. (A person who is both very thin and wears tragic anoraks.) I just made that up as a joke. Even though I am very upset I can still think of a joke.”

“The crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow.”