Quick-wittedness

Post 14 A sense of humour is the spice of life

A Chinese saying has it that ‘a word once spoken cannot be overtaken even by a team of four horses’. No matter how fast the four horses can run, the spoken word can never be taken back because it has already travelled far and wide. Thus, it is important for us not to be rash with our words. However, sometimes one may be forced to show one’s resourcefulness in an emergency.

British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill was delivering a speech in public when a note was handed over to him from the floor. The word ‘idiot’ was written on it. Churchill who was perfectly calm and collected told the congregation, “I just received a letter without contents. It has only the signature of the writer.” These were words of quick-wittedness spiced with humour to strike back at the culprit.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, was among the five invited guests to speak at a gathering. He was to be the last speaker. The first four speakers deliberated lengthy speeches and when it was General Eisenhower’s turn to speak, it was already near 10pm and everyone at the gathering had become restless. He then went up to the stage and said that any speech must have a full stop and so let him be one for the night.

What a sense of humour!


6 October 2009