I was contacted and interviewed sometime in March
by our old pal, Angus Lind. He is a columnist for
the Times-Picayune. (I believe that's in New
Orleans, isn't it?) Here's the text of his most
recent article about puns and the ISTPF. It ran
in late/mid March. GARY HALLOCK
==========================

Beatrice and Marjorie, sisters, shared everything. Marjorie had an elegant fur coat that Beatrice coveted. One very cold day, their mother
suggested that Beatrice would be warm if she donned Marjorie's stole. So now, Bea wears the hides of Marj.
That was the pun of the day for this past Wednesday, which was the Ides of March and the perfect set-up for the above groaner from
punpunpun.com, the web site for those who believe, as the late John Crosbie did, that the pun is mightier than the sword.
Crosbie and I kept up with each other, ever since he founded the International Save the Pun Foundation (ISTPF) in 1979 along with its
publication, "The Pundit." He was a fierce supporter of reading and literacy programs and a guy who never took himself too seriously. We
talked, always reviewing his "Ten Best-Stressed Puns" of that particular year.
When I realized he left us more than a decade ago, it hit me that although his friend and fellow Canadian Norman Gilbert had taken over the reins as Chairman of the Bored (CQ), I hadn't been doing my share. That would be to keep all things punny alive and well on the local scene
for those who believe, like Crosbie, that "A day without puns is like a day without sunshine - there is gloom for improvement."
The day before the Hides of Marj, the punpunpun.com Pun of the Day was this offering: "As the desert community ended its third month
without appreciable precipitation, the local Indian tribe decided it was time to solicit the help of the 'great spirit.' The evening of the big rain dance, the local weather reporter offered a hopeful forecast:
"An outside chants of showers."
That gem was from, as he described himself, "Meet Urologist Gary Hallock." Hallock is the producer and former champion of the 27th annual O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships, scheduled for Saturday, May 14, in downtown Austin, Texas. ("Free! Jest for the pun of it!") He's also the punnmeister and publicist:
"This irreverent assault on our anguished language annually lures both veteran verbivores (CQ) and naïve neophytes on a passionate
pilgrimage to meet their Mecca in Austin."
You can register online for the competition. There are spaces open for 32 competitive punslingers (CQ) in two different categories:
"High-Lies & Low Puns," in which two punsters go toe-to-toe, with a subject matter, as they dig deeper and deeper into their bag of tricks to
keep it going. Say the subject is wheeled vehicles, it could go like this:
"Wheel go a wheel long time with this one."
"And nobody will ever get tired."
"I tread this over the other day."
"I could be a good spokesman for this."
And then there's the "Punniest of Show" category, a 90-second competition, says Hallock, "for creative have-wits from every crook and nanny to stuff their struts." It's a freestyle event, prepared as maybe a shaggy dog story or a song parody, or a comedic routine, anything to
entertain the panel of judges who vote Olympic-style."People are fascinated by puns and punny people," Hallock was telling me. "But you wonder - are they being entertained or agonized? Sometimes you
don't know how far you should go. "That's the hazard of interviews, too. If you pull off a good one, should you keep going? The one I always have trouble getting into print is this one: 'Punsters are really lonely people because they have a hard time trying to find people to go outwit.'
"Some copy editor always changes that to 'out with.' Hopefully, not here.
Hallock is also the founder of P.U.N.Y. (Punsters United Nearly Yearly), a support group for punaholics. He is their "Leerless Feeder." They
chat back and forth, play word games on line, mess around with limericks and of course, it's open to the public. Puns, he said, "are something that preoccupies way too many of my waking hours. It's my alter ego, and it's hard to alter this alter ego."
The ISTPF annually honors the Punster of the Year (P.O.T.Y.) at the Austin soiree. This year's honoree is Norman Gilbert, an unabashed punster who has continued Crosbie's punstering with the same zeal and mirth of his predecessor. Hated by the French and worshipped by some of the greatest English wits who ever lived, including Shakespeare and Boswell, the pun is what drives people like Gilbert, Hallock, Richard Lederer and all those who believe if you don't like them, a pox a pun you.
One of the punpunpun mottoes is:
"Fun rhymes with pun and pun spelled backwards is nup and you have to know when a nup is a nup. So dance as if no one is watching and pun as if no one is groaning."