A Genie Too Far
A man is walking along a California beach and stumbles across an old lamp. He picks it up and rubs it, and out pops a genie.
The genie says, "OK, OK. You released me from the lamp, blah, blah, blah. This is the fourth time this century and I'm getting a little sick of these wishes, so you can forget about having three. You only get ONE wish!"
The man excitedly says, "Hey, I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, but I'm afraid to fly and I get very seasick. How about your building me my own bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over there to visit whenever I want?"
The genie laughs and says, "Come on now, you didn't give this any real thought, did you?! How could I possibly do that? Think of how big it'd be and of the logistics and problems of building it! Like, how would the supports ever reach the bottom of the Pacific? Or, how high it would have to be to let all the ships out there pass under it. And do you know how much concrete it'd take... and how much steel!? No, this time CAREFULLY think of your one wish!"
The man says "OK!", and this time sits down a long time to come up with a really good wish. Finally, he says, "I've got it! I've been married and divorced four times. My wives always said that I didn't care and that I'm insensitive. So, I wish that I could understand women...know how they feel inside and what they're thinking when they give me the silent treatment... know why they're crying... know what they really want when they say, 'nothing'... know how to make them truly happy... "
The genie says, "You want that bridge with two lanes or four?"