 Why was the cemetery joke a faux pas?
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] The first man to return from beyond the Great Frontier may be welcomed ... but will it be as a curiosity, rather than as a hero...? There was the usual welcoming crowd for a celebrity, and the usual speeches by the usual politicians who met him at the airport which had once been twenty miles outside of Croton, but which the growing city had since engulfed and placed well within its boundaries. His Honor's handclasp was somewhat moist and cold. Still, he was the honored home-comer, the successful returnee, the hometown boy who had made good in a big way, and they took the triumphal tour up Main Street to the new square and the grandstand. There he sat between the mayor and a nervous young coed chosen as homecoming queen, and looked out at the police and fire department bands, the National Guard, the boy scouts and girl scouts, the Elks and Masons. Several of the churches in town had shown indecision as to how to instruct their parishioners to treat him. The tremendous national interest, the fact that he was the First One, had made them come around. It was obvious by now that they would have to adjust as they'd adjusted to all the other firsts taking place in these—as the newspapers had dubbed the start of the Twenty-first Century—the Galloping Twenties. He wanted a meal at his own table, a kiss from his wife, a word from his son, and later to see some old friends and a relative or two. He had traveled and he had returned and his voyage was very much like the voyages of the great mariners, from Columbus onward—long, dull periods of time passing, passing, and then the arrival. He saw that as soon as the official car let him off at 45 Roosevelt Street. They had rehabilitated, spruced up, almost rebuilt the entire outside and grounds.
 Henry had died, but nobody was comfortable enough to talk about it.
 Henry had watched many people die recently, including his own commanding officer.  Henry himself had almost died and did not want to be reminded of the trauma.  The joke was so old that made everyone uncomfortable to hear again.  Henry had died, but nobody was comfortable enough to talk about it.