One slow afternoon, a man relaxed on his front porch, enjoying the peace that comes with a quiet neighborhood and nowhere to be. As he rocked back and forth in his chair, something unusual down the street caught his attention.
In an empty lot, two blonde women were hard at work. Each held a shovel. One would dig a hole, step aside, and almost immediately the other would walk forward and fill the hole back in. There was no hesitation and no conversation—just a steady pattern. Dig. Fill. Repeat.
At first, the man smiled and returned to his newspaper. After an hour passed, curiosity set in. After two hours, confusion followed. By the third hour, he lowered the paper and watched closely. They were clearly putting in real effort, wiping sweat from their brows, yet the ground looked exactly the same as when they started.
Finally, unable to ignore it any longer, he stood up and walked down the road.
“Excuse me,” he said kindly, “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I’ve been watching for quite some time. You both look incredibly busy, but I can’t figure out what the work is meant to accomplish.”
The women stopped, leaned on their shovels, and exchanged a quick glance.
“Well,” one of them said simply, “there are usually three of us.”
The man nodded slowly. “Alright… and?”
“The one who plants the trees called in sick today.”
With that, she returned to digging. The other immediately filled the hole.
The man walked back to his porch more puzzled than before.
Elsewhere, at a busy military base starting its day, a young private stood nervously outside his commanding officer’s office. He adjusted his uniform, took a deep breath, and knocked.
“Come in,” the officer called.
The private entered and saluted. “Sir, I’m requesting permission to leave base this weekend.”
The officer raised an eyebrow. “What’s the reason?”
“My wife is expecting, sir.”
The officer nodded. “I understand. Permission granted. Give her my congratulations.”
The following week, the same private returned.
“Sir, requesting permission to leave base this weekend.”
The officer smiled knowingly. “Let me guess—your wife’s expecting?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Still?” the officer asked. “That must be tough. Approved.”
By the third week, the private appeared once again.
Before he could speak, the officer sighed. “Don’t tell me—your wife is still expecting.”
“Yes, sir,” the private answered confidently.
The officer slammed his pen on the desk. “Good heavens! What on earth is she expecting?”
The private stood straighter. “Me, sir.”
Across the base, soldiers stood in formation as the morning sun climbed higher. Boots scuffed the ground. Coffee cups were tossed aside. The first sergeant stepped forward with a clipboard.
“Alright, listen up. Work detail assignments.”
He began calling names.
“Ames.”
“Here!”
“Jenson.”
“Here!”
“Jones.”
“Here!”
“Magersky.”
“Here!”
“Seeback.”
Silence.
The sergeant frowned. “Seeback!”
Nothing.
“SEEBACK!”
The formation remained perfectly still. A nearby soldier leaned over and whispered something in the sergeant’s ear. The sergeant paused, glanced at his clipboard, nodded slowly, flipped the page, and continued reading names—from the bottom of the list.
Not a single soldier moved, though several struggled to keep straight faces.
Across town, laughter spilled out of a small roadside diner. A truck driver wiped syrup from his beard while a waitress laughed after realizing “blowouts” referred to pancakes, not tires. The cook nearly burned breakfast. Someone slapped the counter and declared it a story worth remembering.
Nearby, a travel agency window advertised an offer that seemed impossible to pass up. Somewhere beyond that, two people floated down a lazy river in inner tubes, debating refreshments like seasoned vacation planners.
Life rolled on—powered by misunderstandings, misplaced confidence, and perfectly timed punchlines. Hard work didn’t always make sense. Authority didn’t always bring clarity. And sometimes, routines were followed so faithfully that logic never had a chance to interrupt.
Whether it was a man watching holes get dug and refilled, a commanding officer losing patience, or a sergeant outsmarted by his own paperwork, every moment shared the same truth:
Life is a lot more entertaining when expectations fall apart.