RIP John Sexsmith
John Sexsmith was good with words. Let's try that again. John Sexsmith was magic with words. He loved to cast spells with words. He loved to use words to make meanings appear and disappear out of thin air. That's what a pun essentially is, right? A bit of hocus focus. I first saw Johnny's deftness with the language in a TV news feature sports story he did back in the ITV News/Global Edmonton days. All I can really remember about the piece is that he did his standup in a military tank. "This," he said to the camera, "is the tanks we get?!" Boom. I laughed out loud. For years, we kept the joke going. If either of us saw a propane tank or an acetylene tank or a septic tank, we'd send each other a note. The joke grew. If we were chatting about bicycles, someone would use the line, and this is the cranks we get? A Bugs Bunny reference would lead to, and this is the Mel Blancs we get?! An actor in the news: this is the Tom Hanks we get?! A hotdog stand: ...