Man it was weird reading that potato joke. I have a skiing buddy whose sister dated Tom Brokaw for a little while, many years ago. Tom was invited to the family Thanksgiving dinner of 12 or so folks, and was apparently a really nice guy, down to earth, easy to talk to, no pretensions. But at one point, everyone just cracked up, and Tom had to ask what was funny. My buddy said something like "please don't be offended Tom, but imagine what it's like to have that voice, which we listen to every night while it delivers to us serious, world-changing information, now sitting at our table, in real life, and saying "please pass the mashed potatoes". Tom laughed right along with them.
True story.