When I was a kid, there was a joke I liked. My best friend’s name was Charlie (and I was jealous because she had a cool perfume named for her and she could be a Charlie girl; the name Jennifer sucked even in the ’70s). When Charlie wasn’t around, I’d say, “Charlie and I know everything in the world. Ask me anything.” Then when a question was asked, if I didn’t know the answer, I’d say, “Oh that’s one of the ones Charlie knows.”
When I tried it on my father, he asked me, “What is the capital of Ecuador?” Of course in those ancient times before the era of Google, I didn’t know it. But he remembered the joke a few days later, and he thought he was oh-so clever when Charlie came over, and he asked her what the capital of Ecuador is. She didn’t know it, either. My father lorded that one over me for many years. And, on countless occasions, when I didn’t know something, he’d say, “Well, Charlie must know that one.”
The one thing that came of all this (besides the emotional damage that comes from a father trying to outsmart his 2nd grade daughter) is since the age of seven, I’ve had the capital of Ecuador burned into my brain.
Who knew I’d ever put it to use! And my kids, when asked, won’t have the humiliation of ignorance as they won’t hesitate to answer the question of the capital of Ecuador.
Welcome to Quito, folks! (Now please don’t ask me to name any other South American capitals!)
