The Ungettable Joke

Book excerpt: SThe Ungettable Joke is told in retrospect by two guys who were drawn into extraordinary circumstances. Individually, they are exposed to supernatural experiences which drive them to hit the road, one to escape, the other to seek the source of the experiences. These experiences seem to confirm a theory about an ungettable Joke developed by Dave, an engineer and NASA contractor. At an apparent chance meeting at a roadside diner, Dave explains his personal theories on humor and the ungettable joke to Bill, a high school math teacher. They wonder whether they have been pushed together by greater forces to discover the ultimate joke, a joke so funny that everyone laughs, but no one knows why. The main characters don "t have long to consider this question. The greater forces at work evidently don "t want them to discover the ungettable joke by sitting around and talking about it. Supernatural events continue to force the characters into action and an adventure they might prefer to avoid. They seek aid from an eccentric college professor, an archeologist who tells the story of an ancient Indian tribe, the Chimchuk, whose culture revered humor above all else. The professor, who seems to have an agenda of his own, is interested in a Chimchuk symbolic inscription Dave and Bill obtained. He is also obsessed with a certain Chimchuk artifact -- an amulet made in three pieces. The professor possesses only one piece, his enemy another, and the third is missing. The professor's enemy is a man who appears to be the leader of a cult that is based on Chimchuk culture. He claims to have special powers, drawn from his piece of the amulet, and convinces his followers that he can channel the spirit of the original crafter of the amulet, the great Chimchuk shaman and head joke-teller, Manash. Underlying the main plot, Dave is engaged to be married very soon, and the FBI has become involved due to suspected illicit drug activity in the Chimchuk cult. The interests of all concerned converge at a small town at the entrance to the Giant Sequoia National Park. There, the amulet, the cult, the FBI, and the pursuit of the ungettable joke come together in a Chimchuk cultural festival. The cult leaders at the festival intend to demonstrate the power of the amulet to the new Chimchuk nation. The wild scene and conclusion that follows reveal the realities behind the events, history, and meaning of all that took place, and points to a link between science and faith, seen and unseen, and what humor has to do with it.