#1105 Pot-Pouring

Time to tip over the joke bin and dump out some small ideas that were too crumby to make a whole loaf of an essay. A potpourri of joke fragments.
Like the word potpourri. I love how when we say it we can feel so French for just a moment. Like croissant, it’s an artifact of that time when euro-stuff was all the rage.
A good old American would look at the word, spelled p-o-t-p-o-u-r-r-i-, and think Pot-purry, what’s that? Sounds like some sort of slurry you dump out of a pot, or maybe something people smoking pot do or eat.
Not unlike this other word I heard lately—Curbstoners. Curbstoners are people who illegally sell cars. They say they’re doing it for a friend or ancient Aunt. In reality they picked the cars up at an auction and hid all its flaws and are trying to rook you. The Department of Licensing calls them curbstoners. I guess because they sell you something from the curb.
Nobody actually ever says curbstone anymore but heck, I guess they couldn’t just call them curbers. As the only thing they’re curbing is their hapless customers’ exercise of common sense.
The problem is, “curbstoners” sounds more like something from a Cheech and Chong movie. A couple of lowriders firing up a bong and pulling over to the curb because they’re too stoned to drive. “Dude, we were curbstoning the other night, and to fool the Man we used some of that potpourri incense...”
And speaking of new technology. I know, I wasn’t, but I am now. Here’s a little heads up to techno-inventors. I think it’s time we had a keyboard shortcut for the @ key. You know, the symbol you put in email addresses and URLs. So-and-so@such-and-such dot com.
The @ key is tucked way the heck up on the little finger left side of the keyboard. I type in a lot of emails and URLs and dude, you have to be a virtuoso lead guitarist to have the kind of pinky finger flexibility.
Makes you wonder if the guy who thought up the QWERTY keyboard layout was hitting the potpourri pretty heavy.
America, ya gotta love it.