"You gotta be kiddin' me"

~ ô¿ô ~ ~ ô¿ô ~ SHINE'S WORLD ~ ô¿ô ~ ~ ô¿ô ~

A lot of people ask where the saying
"You gotta be kiddin' me" came from.

Here's the story behind it....

Way back, George Washington was
crossing the Delaware
River with his troops. They were
packed into the boats.

It was extremely dark and storming
furiously. The water was tossing
them back and forth. Finally
Washington grabbed
Corporal Peters and stationed him
at the front of the boat with a
lantern. He ordered him to keep
swinging it so they could see
where they were heading.

Corporal Peters stood up braving
the wind and driving rain, swinging
the lantern back and forth. A while
later a big gust of wind hit and threw
Corporal Peters and his lantern into
the Delaware.

Washington and his troops searched
for hours trying to find Corporal Peters
but to no avail. All of them felt terrible,
for the Corporal had been one their
favorites.

An hour later Washington and his troops
landed on the other side, wet and totally
exhausted. He rallied the troops and told
them they must go on.

After awhile, Washington and his men
could go no further.

One of his men said, "General, I see lights
ahead."

They trudged towards the lights and came
upon a huge house there in the woods.
What they didn't know was this was a
house of ill repute hidden in the forest
to serve all who came.

General Washington pounded on the door,
his men crowding around him. The door
swung open and the madam looked
out to see Washington and all his men.

A huge smile came across her face to see
so many men standing there.

Washington spoke up, "Ma'am, I'm General
George Washington and these are my men.
We're tired and exhausted and desperately
need warmth and comfort for a while.

Again the Madam looked at all the men
standing there and with a broad smile on
her face said, "Well General, you have
come to the right place. We can surely
give you warmth and comfort. How many
men do you have?"

Washington said, "Well ma'am, there are
thirty two of us without Peters."

She looked at him and said: "You gotta be
kiddin' me."

Now you know.

Sometimes it is better to have a small one!

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