Little Johnny meets Phil Murphy...
Phil Murphy was visiting a primary school in Trenton and he visited a fourth grade class. They were in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings.
The teacher asked the Governor if he would like to lead the discussion on the word 'tragedy.'
So our illustrious Governor asked the class for an example of a 'tragedy.'
One little boy stood up and offered: "If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a tractor runs him over and kills him, that would be a tragedy."
"No," said Murphy, "that would be an accident."
A little girl raised her hand: "If a school bus carrying 50 children drove off a cliff, killing everyone, that would be a tragedy."
"I'm afraid not," explained Murphy. "That's what we would call great loss."
The room went silent. No other child volunteered. Murphy searched the room. "Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?"
Finally at the back of the room, Little Johnny raised his hand.
The teacher held her breath.
In a quiet voice he said: "If the plane carrying you and Mrs. Murphy was struck by a 'friendly fire' missile and blown to smithereens that would be a tragedy."
"Fantastic!" exclaimed Murphy. "That's right. And can you tell me why that would be a tragedy?"
"Well," says Johnny, "It has to be a tragedy, because it sure as hell wouldn't be a great loss... and you can bet your ass it wouldn't be an accident either!"
The teacher fainted!
