Stay of Execution

[Ralph E. Powers]

An attorney got home late one evening, after a very taxing day trying to
get a stay of execution for a client, James Wright, who was due to b hanged for murder at midnight.
His last-minute plea for clemency to the governor had failed and he was
feeling worn out and depressed.
As soon as he got through the door at home, his wife started on him about,
"What time of night do you call this?
Where have you been?" And on and on.
Too shattered to play his usual role in this familiar ritual, he went and
poured himself a shot of whiskey and headed off for a long hot soak in
the bathtub, pursued by the predictable sarcastic remarks. While he was in
the bath, the phone rang. The wife answered and was told that her
husband's client had been granted his stay of execution after all.
Wright would not be hanged tonight.
Finally realizing what a day he must have had, she decided to go upstairs
to give him the good news. As she opened the bathroom door, she was
greeted by the sight of her husband's rear end as he was bent over
naked, drying his legs and feet. "They're not hanging Wright tonight," she said.
He whirled around and screamed, "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, WOMAN, DON'T YOU EVER STOP?"