The Funniest People in Books, Volume 3: 250 Anecdotes

This book contains 250 anecdotes, including these:1) At age 12, young people's author Peg Kehret got polio, and when she started to recover from the paralysis, part of her therapy involved learning to play the accordion because playing it exercises arm muscles that she needed to exercise. Peg's father was enthusiastic about her learning to play the accordion, although she wasn't. Because her father told her that she would learn quickly to play the accordion, she told him, "Why don't...
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This book contains 250 anecdotes, including these:1) At age 12, young people's author Peg Kehret got polio, and when she started to recover from the paralysis, part of her therapy involved learning to play the accordion because playing it exercises arm muscles that she needed to exercise. Peg's father was enthusiastic about her learning to play the accordion, although she wasn't. Because her father told her that she would learn quickly to play the accordion, she told him, "Why don't you play it, if you think it's so easy?" Her father replied, "All right. I will." He borrowed the accordion, but unfortunately he could only make a few squeaks and squawks with it, along with just a few notes that sounded like "The Beer Barrel Polka." Peg and her roommates, all of whom also had polio, booed and covered their ears. However, her father promised to try to play the accordion the following week, when he would visit her again. This time, although Peg and her roommates were prepared to boo and cover their ears, her father flawlessly played "The Beer Barrel Polka." Of course, he had rented an accordion from a music store and played it until midnight each night to learn to play flawlessly that one song for his daughter. 2) Author Dory Previn used to drive around at night and look at houses with brightly lit windows. She always told herself about anyone who lived in one of these houses, "That person has found the secret to happiness." One day, she got lost and she saw a house with a brightly lit window. Again, she told herself about the resident, "That person has found the secret to happiness." When she got closer, she recognized the house--she lived in it.