By Kathy McGrath
After two years of struggling through the pandemic, we now realize it’s the little things that give us hope to get through it.
With this in mind, the Curic family has been writing a joke at the bottom of their driveway several times a week since March 2020. The family-friendly jokes, written in thick sidewalk chalk, are intended to provide passers-by with a distraction from the uncertainty and scariness of the times. Since the project began, more than 90 jokes have appeared on the driveway at 14 Clyde Road.
Joke scribe Tanja Curic says it was her sister, Ana, who came up with the idea. She started writing jokes on her driveway in Ottawa to great response, which prompted their mother to jump on the bandwagon.
“My mother kept asking me to do the same on her driveway,” said Tanja. “After the 25th time of her asking me, I decided it was easier just to go ahead and do it.”
The very first joke was “How do flowers kiss? With their tulips.” The only reaction Tanja recalls was a neighbour explaining to her why this was not biologically correct. Undeterred, Tanja tried again with, “How did the gardener celebrate the arrival of spring? He wet his plants.”
This joke evoked a tremendous response, which became the catalyst for the continuation of the project. “Neighours and passers-by stopped by the driveway, took pictures and selfies, and let my parents know they loved the jokes and wanted more,” Tanja said. “I’ve been putting jokes on the driveway ever since.”
Tanja estimates she has used at least 180 pieces of sidewalk chalk so far. If any neighbours work for Crayola and can get spare sidewalk chalk, please contact the CCRA and we can get the chalk to Tanja.