A sticky situation

[Prof. Phillips walks in as my seminar is about to start... I sense something significant forgotten... Panic strikes and a single bead of sweat peeps out of my forehead and takes a good look at the audience... 4 minutes to go...]

P: Good luck!
I: Do you have a laser pointer? (Thats it!)
P: Sorry, no.

[I become desperate; I am about to choke to death - as my last beacon of hope forsakes me... And then, I find a pointing stick...2 minutes...P walks in through the door again - Deja vu (Matrix: "something is wrong")]

P: Here is the pointer...
[I prefer sticks and I have no intention of using the pointer... I, then, conjure up a wicked plot...]
I: Well, I found a stick! [I demonstrate the existence of a stick by waving it in front of him]
P (not amused): I walked all the way to my room to get this for you...
I (cleverly): Let me start with the stick and if that does not work, I will use your pointer...
P (certainly not amused): A stick always works. It is made of wood, you see.

[I notice ripples of laughter in the audience - they are in the right mood now. I pick up the stick and start my talk with a sly glance to P, imagining what was going on inside his head -- "adamant, incorrigible, little son of a..."]