An important part of joke-telling, or really any kind of public speaking, is to know your audience. You know that you can work a little more blue if you're on stage at a bar, versus talking to a class full of elementary school kids. Knowing my audience is something I've learned to do over my nearly 25 years in the radio business. That was NOT a skill I had, however, when I was in middle school. Back then I was just a goofball that tried to make any/everybody laugh. That lack of awareness is the responsible for my latest Cubicle Confession.

My tale takes place in the mid-late 1980s at a place called Camp Allendale, located in Trafalgar, IN. I always remember the city's name because if you say it backwards it's Raglafart, with an emphasis on the FART, but I digress. I spent a week at that church camp each year for a few years. Each day, during one of the meals, when everyone was in the cafeteria, they would pass out mail from home to the campers, and each day, they would make one of the campers who received mail, come up front and tell a joke in front of everyone. Despite the fact that I love being on a microphone now, the thought back then was pretty terrifying.

Well, sure enough, one day my name got called - I have received some mail, and I had to tell a joke. I had no idea what to say. The only thing I could think of were some 'fake book' that I had heard about recently - an example would be something like "Hey, have you read the book Yellow Sheets, written by I.P. Knightly?" Stupid stuff like that. But which fake book did I decide to tell my fellow (Christian, middle school) campers about? Well, you'll need to watch the video to find out - I'm too embarrassed to put it in writing here. Haha!

Here are a few more 'fake' books that stand out from the time in my life...

  • "Under the Bleachers" by Seymour Butts
  • "Rusty Bed Springs" by I.P. Freeley
  • "Spots on the Wall" by Hugh Flung Poo, or the second edition written by Hugh Flung Dung
  • "Waiting in Line for the Bathroom" by Ivana Tinkle

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