Translation

 I have one friend in The Villages. He is the husband of one of Mom’s pickleball friends. When he found out we were leaving soon, he messaged me and asked if we wanted to go out for dinner sometime before I left. I said I was free for dinner on Saturday and Sunday night. He wrote back saying, “Sunday's fair mon fere." I didn't understand. I thought he had made a spelling mistake and was saying, "Sunday's fair, and Monday's freer." So I thought we were going out on Monday for dinner. Then, after we had eaten dinner on Sunday night, he phoned and said he thought we were going out for dinner tonight. Barb answered the phone, saying, “I thought we were going out tomorrow.” And she realized that his message was "Sunday's Fair, my brother" and he was saying my brother in French. Barb said my French was terrible, and I didn't understand what he said.

Community Watch

While I was out for my evening walk, my community watch fellow drove up and stopped to talk. I always ask him what is a new joke. He said there was a kidnapping at the local school this week. I said, “Oh no”. He said, “Yes, he finally woke up.” He said, “What's blue and not too heavy?" I said I didn't know. He said, "Light Blue". He asked, "What lies on its back a hundred feet up?” When I asked Mom that joke, she knew the answer, "A centipede."

Stupid Name

 Someone we didn't pick in the hockey pool this year but was very tempting was a fellow named "Ivan Ivan." Mom couldn't believe that was his name, so she looked him up and found out the story. Ivan Ivan's father was Russian and had a first name that sounded like a last name. He was constantly asked which name was his first name and which was his last name. So, since his last name was Ivan, he decided to call him Ivan Ivan to ensure this didn't happen to his son. Ivan Ivan was interviewed about his name, and he said he liked it because it was unique. Yes, it is unique and stupid.

Hockey Pool

We had the hockey pool draft this week. Mom and I always look forward to it. We see a lot of old friends, and we kid each other a lot. Last year, I didn't follow the suggestions of my computer program and ended up in last place. I told Mom that this year, I was following my computer program's recommendations no matter what. However, we deviated from the draft pick order to ensure we picked a player named "Ivan Barbashev." We couldn't resist.