Joke Department

On Page One, the Providence Evening Bulletin last week ran a story with an arch note of warning. "A motorist from Cranston [R.I.]," said the story's lead, "sheepishly swears this story is true -but even if it isn't, a newspaper would have to be pretty selfish not to pass it along as he tells it." The story was that a motorist, who refused to identify himself, was driving along Connecticut's Merritt Parkway when his car stalled. He flagged a passing car, asked the woman driving it to give him a push. Since his own car had an automatic transmission, he explained: "You'll have to get up to 30 to 35 miles an hour in order to get me started." The woman nodded and backed up as the man climbed into his car. The man waited for the push. When it failed to come immediately, he looked behind him and saw the woman's car bearing down on him -at 35 miles an hour. Damage to his car: $300.

As soon as the Bulletin story appeared, it was picked up by the Associated Press, reprinted in papers all over the U.S., retold with relish on radio and over a thousand dinner tables. The Bulletin was flooded with long-distance calls from other papers asking for more details. Checking with state police, the Bulletin quickly found out that the story was not true. It had been printed lightheartedly the day before by a Boston columnist, was probably read by a prankster, who phoned it into the Bulletin as straight news. But Bulletin Managing Editor Mike Ogden had no regrets. Said he: "My own feeling is that if a story can be as funny as this, the A.P. ought to go in for this sort of thing more often -always, of course, with due [printed] safeguards."

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