Classic Comedy: Fixing the Window

Two things:

A. This classic comedy sketch seems so much like my job at this point that I'm afraid I will come into the office one morning to find it flooded with rainwater. The situation is analogous to what happens when you are counting apples. For example, say it's a random Tuesday, and you are plugging away at whatever routine task you generally do. Suddenly an emergency arises. Of course, when the emergency hits, you are sitting there with the window open, and you don't have the time or the expertise or the stamina to take care of the problem. Some Bert comes in to yell at you to take care of the problem, but there's actually nothing you can do in time to fix it, so it just keeps raining into your damned office. When you finally get it together to be able to handle the emergency, the sun comes out: no more emergency, no need for all the brilliant solutions you just stayed up all night to develop, and no authorization to implement those solutions to prevent a future emergency. Why should you fix the window now?



B. The trope used in this sketch reminds me that Ernie and Bert invoke some of the greatest comedy duos in pop culture history. Although this scenario is more "Arkansas Traveler" than Abbott and Costello, for some reason it reminds me of the Smothers Brothers. Bert certainly fills the role of of the sensible and long-suffering Dickie Smothers, who can't understand why Ernie's Tommy Smothers won't act reasonably. The best thing about Tommy Smothers is that he was only playing dumb; he operated on logic at its purest, which always caused Dickie great anxiety. Dickie gets the joke, of course, but he loves being the Bert and acting all older-brothery. The secret is is that as long-suffering as Bert may be, he is still game to teach a pigeon how to play checkers.