The Ohio State football coach was worried. The Michigan game was coming up and his star running back was on the verge of flunking out. Something had to be done so he went to the English Lit. prof to see what could be done.””
“Prof” , he said ” You’ve gotta do something about Bobby Joe Gunnison. If he doesn’t pass this course, he’s gonna be ineligible for the big game and we’re gonna get destroyed by Michigan.”
” Okay, coach”, said the professor ” I’ll ask him to write a one page essay on any topic he wants and if it’s halfway decent, I’ll give him a passing grade. Good enough?”
” Bobby Joe couldn’t write a paragraph to save his own life. You’ve gotta make it easier for him.”
” Okay. How about I ask him to write one sentence and if it’s grammatically correct, he’s through.”
” That’s better but we cant take a chance, professor. Can’t you make it easier ?”
” All right.. how about this? I ask him to spell one word and if he gets it right, he passes.”
” Sounds good, professor but just to be absolutely sure he makes it … how about you ask him to spell one word and if he gets one letter correct, he passes?”
” Not asking for much , are you, Coach? But I want us to beat Michigan so I’ll go along with it.”
So Bobby Joe went to class and the professor told him the format for the test. ” I’m going to give you one word. Take your time, think about it and give me the spelling. If even one letter is correct , you pass. You ready for this?”
” Yes, professor.”
” Okay. The word is coffee. Spell it.”
Bobby Joe thought about it ; then he thought about some more. Finally , he was ready. Slowly he spelled it out.
” K … a … w … p… h … y.”
Golden Ripples 
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