Ralph was a very kind and caring mechanic. One day a sad car came into his garage. The car tried to joke with him but didn't do a very good job.
"I might be an Oldsmobile, but I'm as wild as a Ford Mustang and I spark like a Buick Electra...well...sort of."
Ralph felt bad for the car. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked.
"I've got a runny hose and my I'm overheated...get it." The car just sighed.
"Is there anything else wrong?" the mechanic asked in a concerned voice.
"My spark plugs are wrinkled and I've got a lot of gas," the car shook his head. His jokes came out miserable.
The mechanic felt awful for the car. "Is there anything else?"
The car groaned. "I guess I can't steer you into laughing at my jokes."
The mechanic felt really bad that the car was so sad. "Well, let me take a look under the hood."
"I wouldn't. The only thing running under there is me when I tell my jokes. Nobody likes my sense of humor. They throw tomatoes at me."
"You can't be that bad," the mechanic tried to cheer the sad car up.
The car started to cry. It sprayed windshield cleaner all over the mechanic. "My
windshield wipers can't even wipe away my tears!"
The mechanic wiped water off his shirt. "This is serious. I better take a look and see what's wrong."
The mechanic took a look under the hood. It only took a minute to see what the real problem was. "There. All fixed," he announced after a while. "Now everyone will love your jokes again!"
"What was the problem? the car asked in a happy voice.
"Oh, nothing serious. Your timing was off. That's all. Now you can be funny again!"
The car honked its horn in joy and sped away. The mechanic laughed. "Yep, a good joke requires perfect timing."