Ah, Fred Brown!

I heard something so good yesterday that I just had to come out of hibernation to share it with you. One of my co-workers, though not Catholic, is a very devoted Christian, and we got to talking about how the rest of the crew swears all the time. When I hear someone take God's name in vain, I say in my mind, in reparation for their offense, "Blessed be God's Holy Name forever." Then I usually just leave the room and go off on my own to do something.

My co-worker takes a different approach. When someone repeatedly uses God's name in vain, he turns the tables on them and starts using their name as an expletive. For example if the guy who always swears is named Fred Brown, then every time my co-worker wants to get his point across, he starts yelling, "Ah, Fred Brown!" when he is in a situation that usually evokes swearing. He even bangs the counter for effect sometimes when he yells out, "Ah, Fred Brown!"

Cool, isn't it? It gets the point across real quick. You should see the look on "Fred Brown's" face!