SAANICH -- Before he embarked on his business, Callaghan considered the needs of the marketplace.
“Most people are really scared of the virus so...,” he begins explaining.
So instead of selling lemonade, the six-year-old decided to serve something to comfort our COVID-19 concerns.
“To tell jokes to people who are walking by or driving by in cars,” he says.
Callaghan set up his funny business at the end of his driveway. It features a table, chair, umbrella, and large sign saying: Drive-By Walk-By Joke Stand.
“I just think of any old joke in my head and just tell it to them,” he explains.
Callagan’s rib-tickling repertoire ranges from puns (“What do elves learn at school? The elf-abet.”) to knock-knock jokes (“Knock-Knock! Who’s there? Interrupting Dinosaur. Interrupting Dinosaur wh...? Roar!”). They are curated from a gift he got from his mom, Kelsea.
“Callaghan’s been interested in humour for a while,” she says. “Ever since I got him a joke book, he’s had a few zingers up his sleeve.”
I ask him how many jokes he’s memorized for his stand. He takes a while to consider the question, before answering, “Ten!”
It would be a disservice to his business to reveal them all, but here’s a couple more:
“What do you call a snow fort that pigs go in? A pigloo.”
“What is red, white, and blue? A sad candy cane.”
If you’re feeling blue – about the pandemic or otherwise – you’re invited to visit his joke stand at 2550 Penrhyn Street, near Cadboro Bay.
Callaghan says his funny business opens at 10 a.m. and guarantees the material is priceless. Literally.
“You don’t have to pay,” he says. “They’re free!”
Instead of making money for himself, Callaghan’s goal was always to improve the moods of others.
“Children have a way of seeing the bigger picture,” Kelsea says. “Wether they recognize it or not.”
Just because we can’t share each other’s space, Callaghan shows us, doesn’t mean we can’t share a laugh.
