Tiger Woods

[Sally O. Donlon]

When I was a child, my father used to be fond of telling those very
long and winding narrative jokes, and one I remember in particular
punned on the Whittier poem with a detective story that focused on the
"boyfoot bear with teaks of Chan." The gist was that a detective was
hired to uncover the mystery of who had stolen the teakwood statues
from the Chinaman's woodland shop. Turns out a young bear had been
traumatized in a fire, in which he had lost his mother, hence the
kleptomaniacal tendency. All the fur and the claws had been burned off
the bottom of his feet in the fire so that he left footprints that
resembled those of a small boy.

What I marveled at then was that enough people were familiar with the
poem to enable the joke, which required a sizeable investment in time
and attention to reach the punch line, to carry any sort of currency.
Apparently it did, though, because it seemed to be making the rounds at
that time (early '60s).

sally o. donlon