Good afternoon,

In an earlier thread, I told a truly butchered version of the old joke about the editor and the Pearly Gates.

Well, it turns out the properly told old poem is included in Whitworth journalism professor Gordon Jackson's 2006 book "Watchdogs, Blogs and Wild Hogs."

Gordon collects quotes and sayings and has several really great compilation books to his credit.

The poem appears on Page 51, a chapter full of funny statements about editors and editing.

Here is the Pearly Gates poem, which Gordon attributes to "anonymous."

"An editor knocked at the Pearly Gates,
Her face was scarred and cold;
She stood before the man of fate
for admission to the Fold.
"What have you done?" St. Peter asked,
To gain admisson here?"
"I've been an editor, sir," she said
As she shed a tear.

The Pearly Gates swung open wide,
St. Peter touched the bell --
"Come in," he said, "and choose your harp,
You've had your share of hell."

The subject of editor jokes had several of us scrambling today to remember those we've heard over the years. I suppose most lawyer jokes could be re-written for editors, but that seems a cheat.

Managing Editor Gary Graham came up with this one:

Do you know the difference between God and an editor?

God doesn't think he's an editor.

Another good line from Gordon's book, attributed to Gene Fowler, a great American editor of the not-too-distant past.

An editor should have a pimp for a brother, so he'd have someone to look up to."

One more, this from Mark Twain and also included in Gordon's book:

"I am not an editor of a newspaper, and shall always try to do right and be good so that God will not make me one."

Know any more good sayings or jokes about or at the expense of newspaper editors? Feel free to post them. And I'll pass them on to Gordon for his next edition.

steve