During my college years had a friend, Mercer, who loved a non sequitur. One of his favorites went like this:
You:”Do you have a pencil?”
Mercer: “No. but I have a shoulder blade.”
You never knew how he might respond to any question, and he always did so with a serious, straight face. His friends knew how to take him. Strangers were flummoxed, or thought he was loony.
Merriam-Webster’s definition of a non sequitur: a statement (such as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said. Uses of non sequiturs vairy;
1) Humorous;
Sam: I have a new wristwatch.
Sol: What kind is it?
Sam: 2:15.
2) Avoidance;
Sally: I went to the Zoo yesterday with our friend Paul we and saw the baby Panda.
Sue: I’m wondering if it will rain a lot tomorrow.
Sally: There is a new overlook for seeing the penguins.
3) The unintentional disconnect (wasn’t paying attention) or intentional (need to change the subject) ;
Alfred:I bought that new sketchbook yesterday.
Patrick: There is a new neighbor moving in down the street.
And then, there is my favorite; Doubletalk: (not the kind where the purpose is deceit). When I was Director of Wesley Foundation and Methodist Campus Minister at Georgia Southern University, one of our students was Durwood Fincher; he kept everyone in stitches at the student Center. Although Durwood was related to the famous Fincher’s Barbecue restaurant chain in Macon, GA, it was not his claim to fame; it was his hilarious sense of humor.
I lost track of Durwood after he was graduated and became a teacher. A few years ago we met again in Atlanta. He was visiting a friend at a facility I was visiting also. We got reacquainted, and I learned that he was on an entirely different vocational track from teaching; Entertainment: I was not surprised. Doug is called “Mr. Doubletalk.” The late Alan Funt, of the erstwhile “Candid Camera” discovered Durwood, named him “Mr Doubletalk,” launching him into the entertainment circuit.
Durwood’s entertainment repertoire is interviewing people, and through a volley of non sequitur conversation and confusing questions; sometimes annoying his subject much to the entertainment of the audience. He always ends each interview explaining that he is “Mr Doubletalk,” with no intent of making sense (as in a Candid Camera reveal). Durwood entertains at conventions and corporation galas —-often under the pretense of being the new hire for Corporate Communication—which adds humor to the occasion. He is a master of the non sequitur, as you will see.
After our reconnection, I was able to get him hooked with First Baptist Church, Tucker, GA for an evening of entertainment. My disappointment was that the evening he was scheduled to entertain, was a one for which I had an ironclad appointment myself. The good news is that he did a great job for that audience, as I expected,
Here is a link to one of his hilarious episodes on YouTube; Enjoy!