I had fun with a faculty member who emailed me yesterday asking me if I’m willing to serve on an ad hoc committee he’s organizing. I accepted, but knowing this particular faculty member has a sense of humor, I added the folowing P.S. to my acceptance note:
I like ‘em ham hoc committees better’n ad hoc committees, because I can eat ham hocs. I never figgered what an ad hoc wuz good fer.
I thought about ham hocks later and realized that I didn’t know exactly what a ham hock is. So I looked it up and, as usual, found an informative short piece at wikipedia.com. Turns out I’ve eaten it a few times without knowing it (or at least eaten beans or greens or something seasoned with a ham hock). Before that, I thought only hillbilies ate ham hocks.
