The Infamous 9/11 Joke
Over the years, I have often repeated a joke to friends which was told to me on 9/11. The joke is horribly offensive however I do enjoy offensive humor and this joke in particular meant a lot to me at the time. So it being the tenth anniversary of that terrible day, I thought it would be appropriate to retell this joke today.
First, I have to give a little bit of setup and back story. For those who aren’t aware, today is my Birthday. Yeah, my birthday really is 9/11. On the morning of the 9/11 tragedy, I was living in the Philadelphia area and was already at work. My brother was in college at NYU. His dorm was blocks away from the Twin Towers.
When I first heard that a plane had hit one of the towers, my boss brought out his radio and we were glued to it. When the second plane hit, we knew as everyone else did that it was an attack. After the towers came down I tried to call my brother to make sure he was okay. Of course I couldn’t get through because the cell tower was on the top of one of the towers that had fallen.
Eventually, I did get through and he told me the following joke:
“It’s your Happy birthday, so I lite a couple of candles for you… too soon?”
My brother often talks about how it is never too soon to joke about tragedy. A lot of people died that day and I am glad my brother was not one of them.
Filed under: Blasphemy, Patriot Day, Personal