My father loved to tell jokes, and although they were always funny, I've forgotten most of them. But I still remember this one, which he told to my mother and me while driving from Michigan to Florida for a vacation. I was only about 12 years old at the time. It goes like this:

Dad: How Long is a Chinaman.
Mom: I give up, how long is a Chinaman?
Dad: That's right.
Mom: What? I don't get it.
Dad: How Long is a Chinaman.
Mom: I said I don't know. How long is a Chinaman.
Dad: Yes, he is.
Mom: Bob! You're not making any sense.
Dad: How Long is his name, get it? A Chinaman named "How Long".

Corny? Yeah. Dated? Indeed-- How long (lol) has it been since you've heard the word "Chinaman"? For some reason, though, I remembered this joke, and was reminded of it when, one night, I asked a silent question: Who is God? The answer I received seemed to come in jest: "That's right". Having been familiar with the How Long joke, I knew this meant that "Who" is God's name. While this wasn't the answer I was looking for, it did make me smile. And from that day forward, I began to see a suprising number of cases where ordinary phrases that contain the word "Who" could take on new meaning if you pretended "Who" was God's name:

• Our father Who art in heaven.
• "I am Who I am." --God, Exodus 3:14
• Knock Knock: Who's there.
• Who's gonna save your soul
• Who's gonna take you home tonite
• Who's yer daddy
• Who's to blame
• Who's calling
• Who's minding the store
• Who knows what tomorrow may bring
• Question: What did Joseph say when he learned that Mary was pregnant?
  Answer: Who's the father.

And perhaps the one with the biggest bang for your buck:

• Who knows and Who cares.

Let's hope he does. By the way, if you're curious who told me this little secret... Yes, I think he did.




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