# The punk and the old man

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Joke
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-joke-punk-and-the-parrot
- Themes: humour, self-image, youth
- Life situations: needing a laugh, caring what others think

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

On a New York train a punk with multi-coloured spikes, razor-blade earrings and piercings snaps at the old man opposite: 'What are you looking at, old man?' 'Just you. Didn't you ever do anything outrageous when you were young?' The punk asks back; the old man says in the Navy he had sex with a parrot — he thought the punk might be his son.

## The story, as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

And I remember this story about, I think it was somewhere in New York. There was this old man sitting opposite one of these punks, just spiky hair, about 20 different colours, and razor blades coming from his ears. His clothes were just really multi-coloured, you really need a pair of sunglasses to look at him. And there were just piercings all over his face. And then there's a guy opposite him, you can't help, he's right in front, you have to look at him. And so the punk shouted out, 'what are you looking at old man?' And he said, oh, just you, Didn't you ever do anything a bit outrageous when you were young? Oh yes, I did. When I was in the Navy, I had sex with a parrot, I thought you might be my son.

## Teaching point

(A joke about dressing to provoke; he stresses it's only a joke.)

## Reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

A spiky-haired punk snaps at an old man for staring, and gets a cheeky punchline he didn't see coming. Ajahn Brahm insists it's only a joke. His point lands beside it: young, we worry what people think; older, we discover they weren't thinking about us at all. Better to find that out sooner rather than later.

## Source

- [Am I Good Enough? | Ajahn Brahm | 28 April 2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2mWuCk70Ck) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 6:47 to 7:41: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2mWuCk70Ck&t=407s