Dust Bunnies. Image via topproducer.com

What people need is a break from their trials.

An old joke goes like this:

How do you catch a unique rabbit?

You ‘nique up on it.

How do you catch a tame rabbit?

The tame way, you ‘nique up on it.

It’s pretty funny if it’s the only joke of the week.

More bad jokes are what people need?

Can’t hurt. Might even get a laugh.

Even if you don’t hear that laugh, it’s out there.

Two old men checked onto a hospital floor at the same time.

It was my first week on the job and it wasn’t going well.

One old man asked if I’d smother him with a pillow.

The other, his son, also pretty old, said it was nothing new.

He told me to ignore the request, like it was a medical option.

Later in the week the old man was in a single room and inspired this story:

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“Joe Broom cleaned rooms in the hospital section where no one got out of bed.

He dry mopped dust bunnies into piles and swept them away.

He always knew when patient eyes were on him.

When he felt the eyes he played it up.

“Been chasing that one from one room to another. These dust bunnies run out front and you never catch them. But here it is.”

He smiled into the blinking eyes of the blank face.

When he swayed one side to side the eyes followed him. That was his test.

If they didn’t follow him with their eyes he collected the dirt and moved on; if they did, he continued. It’s what people need.

“One time I hunted down a big old bunny, so big I thought I’d need a license. It hid behind the doors, under beds. I think it went home with someone at night and came back in the morning.”

He swayed and the eyes stayed on him.

“I caught it trying to get into a cupboard in the break room. One poor woman was reaching in for a pack of coffee creamer and the bunny tried slipping around her hand. I stabbed it with the bristles of my broom quick as that.”

The eyes widened.

“Yes I did. I harpooned it right on the edge of the cabinet. Only took one plunge and it was all over. Never seen one like it, never expect to see another.”

No one ever said anything, but sometimes a smile turned up.

The eyes slowly faded and closed and Joe Broom pushed his pile out the door. He’d knew not to say too much.

His voice carried from the hallway.

“If you’re not careful those bunnies will sneak up on you. They are unique like that. So you sneak up on them instead.”