Joes' hope

Joe Blogs sat quietly playing his game of Solitaire , at this point it was the only game in town . A knock at the door signalled the arrival of Joe Soap . Now Joe S. was a very quiet fellow , probably could be described as a 'grey man'.Pays his taxes , raises his family , gets on with life practically unnoticed by the world at large , a cautious card player . So the two Joes played a dangerous game of ' Snap' (Chemin de Fer , Blackjack , and good old Pontoon , were too sophisticated for our Soap ), just to pass the time , very little small talk . Next to arrive was Joe Sixpack , (sometimes called ''Smokin'' Joe ) , now he was a different kettle -of-fish .Joe S/p was bounced into the headlines by a pushy woman , who , herself , was best known for the fact that she put make-up on her pet pig ( just like that woman in 'Misery' ) . Joe S/p would be described in some circles as 'trailer trash' , torn , grubby T- shirt , carrying his usual six-pack of cheap beer , coughing , with the ash of his Marlboro dangling precariously . We played Sixpack's favourite game of 'Shoot' , an even more dangerous game than 'Snap'. Joe The Plumber made his usual boisterous entrance , next . Joe the Plumber has no connection at all with the equally famous Paddy the Plasterer . Joe became known to the world at large through the good offices of a 72 -year-old politician who used him in an example of the best way to distribute wealth (unlike Paddy the Plasterer who allowed a politician distribute his wealth for him ).


A great game of Texas -Hold-'Em commenced . the Plumber showed the others HIS way of distributing wealth by winning everything on the table .
The small talk during the game covered the important topics of Faith , Hope and Charity , in todays world . All agreed that Faith had been given a good kicking in recent years due in part to the actions or lack of action within the various churches , the general state of the world and advances in science etc , Charity ( giving to others ) was already under pressure , even before the credit crunch . So we are left with Hope.....we must convince ourselves that things are so bad that they can only get better....so went the discussion...
When the game was over and everyone was packing up , three Joes nursing their losses , one counting his winnings . Joe Soap slipped out the door before anyone noticed , Joe Sixpack drained his last can of beer ,belched , stretched , and rolled off into the night , in a cloud of cigarette smoke . Joe the Plumber mopped up all the cash on the table , grinned and went off , probably to redistribute his winnings among the local bookmakers .
Joe Blogs , emptied the ash trays , sat back down and returned to his game of 'Solitaire' and as he dealt them out again , he wondered why the 5th Joe , Joe McDoakes , the original guy behind the ''8'' ball , hadn't turned up ......Joe McD . was usually the loser......