You know the Dad Joke ...
Dads tell "Dad Jokes" It's what we do. Just part of the DNA. You know, "Dad Joke"? Corny, stupid, lame, dumbass, pointless, silly ... jokes.
The kind that elicits eye rolls, and "Oh, Daaad!".
Like this one: "Why isn't your nose 12 inches long? If it were, it would be a foot." Well, actually, that's a pretty good one. But, it's in the genre, if at the top. "I like Bananas because they have appeal." "What do you get when you cross a submarine with a Tangerine. A 'navel Orange'."
There's a little secret to Dad Jokes. I don't know that it's an intentional thing, but it's this. When a Dad tells a Dad Joke, he expects a response. Depending on the response, he gets a bead on where the kids are at. Do the kids get it that you have to be cool to be square? Tell a Dad Joke, and take a measure of the response. And your darling offspring.
I'm not gonna go into all the permutations. Just that there's a range. From the pandering solicitous fake laugh of an already formed politician, who's dishing out a veneer of enjoyment, when underneath is a heap of condescending rage. [Give such a lad a whipping.] And, of course, the eye rolls and "Oh, Dad's". That often tells of immaturity and lack of generosity. Or, have those little ungrateful snots just written you off already and just see Dad as an inconvenient embarrassment? They give you the "ghost". Then, when you tell one with a reference from a time way before the kids would know ... do they give you a blank, or do they ask? Important reveal. Let's hope they ask. Bodes well for their future.
If you are a Dad with kids, you know what I'm talking about. It's for you to see what you see in their response.
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