Joke with a new twist
One sunny day in January 2009 (slightly in the future), an old man approached the White House from across Pennsylvania Avenue, where he’d been sitting on a park bench. He spoke to the US Marine standing guard and said “I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.”
The marine looked at the man and said “Sir, Mr Bush is no longer president and no longer resides here.” The old man said “Okay” and walked away.
The following day, the same man approached the White House and said to the same Marine, “I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.”
The Marine again told the man, “Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr Bush is no longer president and no longer resides here.” The man thanked him, and again, just walked away.
The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to the very same US Marine, saying “I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.” The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said “Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been asking to speak to Mr Bush. I’ve told you every day that Mr. Bush is no longer the president and no longer resides here. Don’t you understand?”
The old man looked at the Marine and said “Oh, I do understand, sir. I just love hearing it.”
The Marine snapped to attention, saluted and said “See you tomorrow, sir.”
Reminds me of the joke about that old concentration camp prisoner who found a genie in a bottle, doesn’t it? Although I can’t find a source for that joke, so I must be misremembering it.
ETA: I was misremembering it. A quick google for “joke three wishes poland” brought it back.
About thirty years ago, an old man was walking home through the streets of Warsaw. He cut through an alley and was kicking garbage out of his way when he uncovered a lamp. He figured, “what the heck” and picked it up, then began rubbing it.
A genie appeared. “My thanks, master. For freeing me from my lamp, I will grant you three wishes.”
The old man thought for a moment, then spoke. “I wish for Genghis Khan and his entire Horde to live again, to ride all the way from Mongolia to the Polish border, then to stop, turn around, go home, and be dead again.”
The genie looked at him oddly, then spoke. “Very well, Master, it is done. And for your second wish?”
The old man spoke again. “I wish for Genghis Khan and his entire Horde to live again, to ride all the way from Mongolia to the Polish border, then to stop, turn around, go home, and be dead again.”
The genie looked at him oddly again, hesitated, then spoke. “Very well, Master it is done. And for your third wish?”
“I wish for Genghis Khan…”
“Yes, yes, it is done! Now, Master, before I leave, I have to ask you this question. Even trapped in my lamp for lo these centuries, I heard the jokes about your people, and always thought they were mean-spirited and cruel and slanderous. But here you had three wishes, and you wasted them on that? What was that all about?”
The old man chuckled. “Because Genghis Khan and his entire Horde just went through the length of Russia six times.”