Adult humor

T and his friends used to joke about "adult humor" -- the kind of automatic wisecrack that spills out of people's mouths at the office (especially Mondays and Fridays) or in line at the grocery store. These are the kinds of jokes that broadcast one's passage from hip youth to embarrassingly unfunny adult. At least, that's how I always imagined T & co. interpreted them. It was always good for a laugh to point out when one of us indulged in adult humor, either on accident (in the course of being polite to strangers) or by design (oh, irony).

It occurred to me this morning that my joke to a cashier at 10,000 Villages yesterday was adult humor to beat all previous attempts... and I wasn't even trying! I present to you the following exchange, which took place as a sales clerk spotted me looking around the crowded store for fireplace pokers and trying to locate T:

Saleswoman: "Can I help you find anything?"
Me: "Do you sell fire pokers?"
Saleswoman: "No, I'm sorry, we don't."
Me: "Well, in that case, have you seen my husband?"
!!!!cha-CHING!!!
Saleswoman: "They tend to get lost around here."

I have to admit, I am smiling to myself a little at the cleverness of it right now. I guess the appeal of adult humor is that it's just so *easy*. Maybe that's why T makes jokes about being in trouble with the wife. Even though they drive me crazy and I don't think they're funny, I imagine they are irresistible to him.