By Pam Walatka

Jarmy

What a pleasure to be in the presence of sly, unbridled wit. Howard Jarmy, in his latest book, “Fables and Foibles” (AuthorHouse, 2004), lets his imagination fly off to the land where almost anything is possible and almost everything is funny.

For example, Jarmy turns an ordinary traffic jam into a launching pad for a giant slingshot to catapult commuters. The humor works because Jarmy gives a deadpan delivery of the absurd, somewhat like columnist Dave Barry.

Jarmy’s engineering background provides a basis for nuts-and-bolts imagination. He takes ordinary physical facts to extraordinary places. After regaling dinner guests with a cockamamie explanation of the aerodynamic differences between indoor and outdoor swimming pools, he says, “My bride … thinks engineers have answers for everything. She’s wrong, of course. Engineers, if intrigued by problems, have a need to solve them. If they can’t find a decent explanation, they have enough background to make one up.”

“Fables and Foibles” keeps the reader giggling or laughing out loud. Jarmy is a prankster who seems to enjoy saying mildly outrageous things for a laugh. You can tell from his book that if you were having dinner with him, you would never know when he was putting you on.

The book is a collection of brief pieces, most of them fanciful and funny. The serious pieces seem out of place, because the reader has begun to expect humor. Few authors can write successful humor. Jarmy can, and would be wise to stick with it.

Most readers will find something they can relate to among the 75 stories. Anyone addicted to writing will enjoy “The Battle Joined.”

Jarmy, who has written for the Town Crier, is married to author and Town Crier columnist Charlotte Jarmy.

“Fables and Foibles” is available though amazon.com and at Main Street Cafe & Books.