Little Passages

1.     One of the burdens of the office of the small-town mayor was his brother-in-law, a fellow who liked to throw his- or, his in law's- political weight around. The mayor had instructed his policemen and other town officer not to pay attention to the man's bluster.

       One day the brother-in-law got a ticket for overtime parking. He went to the police station in anger, waving the ticket. "Hey, guys," he shouted,"do you know who I am?"

      The desk sergeant looked at him calmly, then picked up his phone and called the mayor's office. "Tell the mayor," he said to the secretary, "that his brother-in-law is now here and can't remember his name."