remote cards

Did you ever play snakes and ladders as a boy? He asks, clearly expecting the answer to be yes, so that he can make a witty comparison to their current situation. Oh, the person he is talking to on the phone has clearly said no. Um, well, you have snakes, and you have ladders, and if you step on a snake you go down! And Fred just stepped on a snake! He laughs, but it’s the empty laugh of someone who has had to explain their joke, at length.