WORDPLAY POWER GOES WRONG? WATCH YOUR TONGUE

Wordplay power: the activity of joking about the meanings of words, especially in an intelligent way.

Those are the funny people having fun with wordplay power. Intelligent funny people.

They see things and hear things that make them laugh, and we laugh along.

The meaning of words changes over time. So has what’s been considered funny.

Oddly enough, we change over time, too.

What about those who don’t change?

If honesty matters, we’re all had jerk moments, days, weeks, years. But a lifetime of jerk-hood is too much.

Think of the worst people you knew in the past, those you couldn’t avoid if you jumped off a bridge when you saw them coming.

They’d jump off behind you to tell you what a moron you are on the way down.

I knew a kid who wanted to talk trash and fight one day, and the next be calm and passive.

No one fought him because he wasn’t a fighter, just a talker, and it had its light moments.

He might have fought after the taunting and teasing on has badass days, but everyone ran away when he got fired up. Anger didn’t translate to speed, which was probably a good thing since he had wordplay power cussing.

Maybe he would have been a fighter? No one wanted to find out.

It stopped being funny when bigger bullies teased him on his calm days.

Online Characters With Wordplay Power

Have you met people who have up days and down days? Sure you have. You probably have them yourself.

John Prine had a chorus in a song:

That’s the way that the world goes ’round
You’re up one day, the next you’re down
It’s half an inch of water and you think you’re gonna drown
That’s the way that the world goes ’round

I had an afternoon hanging out with a famous artist. You’ve never heard of him, but he travels the world doing art installations half the year, and spends the other half having fun.

Part of his fun was promoting his work. The small group walked around downtown Portland in better days looking at building old and new. The guy seemed a little depressed, even morose.

It all changed when he saw something that interested him. Then he’d excuse himself, walk away, whip out his camera and do selfies of his act. What act?

He made funny faces like he was having the time of his life. The faces and gestures were for his online audience, not us. When he returned, he explained:

“That is who they think I am. A fun guy, a cut up, life of the party. But my real life is like I am now.”

I liked his online character better than the real life guy. Since then I’ve seen online pictures in a different light.

People Are Full Of Surprises

The idea of wordplay power reminds me of comedians who twist things another direction. But funny guys on stage doesn’t always translate to funny guy in real life.

I went to Powell’s yesterday and saw new books from rock stars.

One of them was from Dave Grohl.

You know Dave Grohl? He follows a long tradition in the rock world where a band leader leaves the stage and to the surprise of all the fans, a new leader takes over who was already in the band.

Pink Floyd had Syd Barrett. The Rolling Stones had Brian Jones. Nirvana had Kurt Cobain.

Dave Grohl stepped out from the drums with Foo Fighters after Nirvana ended. He said he couldn’t keep drumming without thinking of Curt Cobain.

Now he’s a an author, songwriter, rock screamer, and doting dad. Who isn’t a fan of a doting dad?

Jon Gruden Wordplay

This is a professional football coach who had a secret life exposed by old emails.

The emails were part of an investigation of the Washington Football Team for allowing a hostile work environment.

They were part of an exchange between Gruden and a man named Bruce Allen. They knew each other from different stops in their NFL careers. Allen is the president of the Washington club.

In the emails Gruden showed himself as a shit talker with few boundaries. Now he’s a radioactive ex-football coach with a 50% winning record and a Super Bowl ring.

He’s been shamed and exiled from main street, but there’s something more important going forward.

He’s a dad with three sons, one of whom is the strength and conditioning coach of the Raiders.

The Gruden kids see their dad getting roasted in a national spotlight. How will they react, if at all?

To show good faith and decency, what should they do? What should Jon Gruden do? There’s not enough wordplay power in the world to fix things.

If I was exposed for a litany of disparaging remarks about gay people, women, and people of color I know what would happen to me in my family. I’d be on that bridge for raising them right.

To help show some contrition for their old man, the Gruden boys should go public about the dad they know and love.

But what if they come out and say, “Yes, the emails show exactly who he’s been, and is.”

Kids don’t deserve the shit-stain of their father’s wordplay power.

Bruce Allen is another matter. I’ve got a feeling he’s about to be the ex-president of the Washington Football Team. He’s got to be reeking.

What would you do if you were a Gruden son?

I’d watch my tongue.