Portland Used to Be Literate

This reminded me of a joke my dad used to tell. Back in the 50’s, long before it became Berkeley North, Portland, Oregon had quite the reputation for literacy. Dad was part of an active group of freelance writers. The story is of a man who arrived from Boston and hailed a cab at the airport. Feeling peckish he asked the cabbie, “Where can I get scrod?”

After a thoughtful pause, the driver replied, “I’ve had that request many times, but this is the first in the pluperfect subjunctive.”