Kerry Von Erich’s wooden leg

One of my favorite jokes is the one about how Kerry Von Erich – professional wrestling’s Texas Tornado – died in a brush fire when his wooden leg started on fire.

Oh, you’ve never heard that one?

No. Probably not. It was what we call an “inside joke.” It’s based almost exclusively on the experiences, thoughts and interactions between three people – my friends John and Doug, and me.

I could explain it, but it wouldn’t be worth it. I could recall how the Von Erichs as a family were cursed – most of them went into wrestling, and nearly all of them died young. I could mention how Kerry Von Erich really did have a wooden leg, and that a drug overdose didn’t seem like a cool enough cursed death, though the prospect of wrestling with one leg seemed amazing and, obviously, pretty funny. I could describe how it was late, and we were waiting for the doors at FuncoLand to open so we could start selling Playstation 2 systems at midnight, and Doug’s sense of humor has often bordered on the absurd.

Even after all of that, you wouldn’t get it.

So all I can say is, “Sorry.”

“It’s an inside joke.”