Potential and Reality
A teenager comes home from school with a writing assignment. He
asks his father for help. "Dad, can you tell me the difference between
potential and reality?"
His father looks up, thoughtfully, and then says, "I'll display it
to you. Go ask your mother if she would sleep with Robert Redford
for a million dollars. Then go ask your sister if she would sleep with
Brad Pitt for a million dollars. Then come back and tell me what
you've learned."
The kid is puzzled, but he decides to see if he can figure out what his
father means. He asks his mother, "Mom, if someone gave you a million
dollars, would you sleep with Robert Redford?" His mother looks
around slyly, and then with a little smile on her face says,
"Don't tell your father, but, yes, I would."
Then he goes to his sisters room and asks her, "Sis, if someone gave
you a million dollars, would you sleep with Brad Pitt?" His sister
looks up and says, "Omigod! Definitely!"
The kid goes back to his father and says, "Dad, I think I've
figured it out. Potentially, we're sitting on two million bucks, but in
reality, we're living with a couple of sluts."
