It has come to the attention of the executive board of the Zouclougeist Alliance that there is currently a serious shortage of humor in Puddleby and the surrounding islands. As you know, in former days life in our town was a continual series of jests, bon mots, and capers; but recently it seems that most exiles have forgotten how to make a joke, much less take a joke. The situation has become sad and largely laugh-free.

But all is not yet lost. The wise and witty leadership of the ZA, in cooperation with other clans, organizations, and independent exiles too numerous to mention, has bowed to popular demand and created the Puddleby Society for the Preservation of Humor (or PSPH, pronounced "pshuff"). In order to preserve and protect the small amount of humor still remaining to us, we have instituted the position of Humor Warden and commissioned several laughable exiles to patrol the town of Puddleby and the surrounding area. They are easily recognizable by the cheery "smiley face" [:)] armbands that they wear, and have been given the task of safeguarding the small amount of humor that still remains.

In order to achieve this hilarious goal the Humor Wardens of the PSPH have been empowered to collect a small fee for each use of humor in the town of Puddleby and the surrounding regions. This will serve to discourage the over-use and exhaustion of what little humor we have left. The schedule of payments is presented below:

I have no doubt that our Humor Wardens will receive full cooperation from all exiles in pursuit of the noble goal of preserving our vanishing humor. Fees collected for the use of humor will be devoted towards helping those who are humor-impaired; if you are at all offended by the very idea of the PSPH, you may already qualify for a grant.

With your help, we can once again make Puddleby a funny place to live!