A woman walks into the downtown welfare office, trailed by 15 kids.


“Wow!” the social worker exclaims. “Are they all yours?”

“Yep, they are all mine,” the flustered momma sighs, having heard that question a thousand times before.

She says, “Sit down Leroy.” All the children rush to find seats.

“Well,” says the social worker, “then you must be here to sign up. I’ll need all your children’s names.”

“Well, to keep it simple, the boys are all named ‘Leroy’ and the girls are all named ‘Leighroy’.”

In disbelief, the case worker. “Are you serious? They’re ALL named Leroy?”

Their momma replied, “Well, yes – it makes it easier… When it’s time to get them out of bed and ready for school, I yell, ‘Leroy!’ An when it’s time for dinner, I just yell ‘Leroy!’ an they all comes a running. And if I need to stop the kid who’s running into the street, I just yell ‘Leroy’ and all of them stop. It’s the smartest idea I ever had, naming them all Leroy.”

The social worker thinks this over for a bit, then wrinkles her forehead and says tentatively, “But what if you just want ONE kid to come, and not the whole bunch?”

“Then I call them by their last names.”