Ball Gag lay in the dark at the bottom of the closet amidst the rubble of discarded sex toys. He fondly remembered the good old days when The Master and Mistress used him and all his friends to play exciting games every night. Sunk in nostalgia, Ball Gag remembered the crack of the whip, the moans, the screams, the foul language. Those were great days.
Then came the babies and the jobs. PTA and late hours at work. Master and Mistress were tired and busy and they no longer came to The Closet to play with all the toys.
Ball Gag wondered if he were actually getting rusty from disuse. The idea so appalled him, that he began to shiver, which made him rattle and set up a noisy clamor as the various chains, clamps, and other metal things banged against one another. Ball Gag tried to move and surprised himself.
“I can move!” he thought. “How can I do this?”
He realized — to his amazement — he had eyes and could see. From his little round body, itty bitty arms and teeny tiny legs clothed in pointy shoes had sprouted.
“FREEDOM!” he cried and began to throw himself at the closet door. It gave way easily and he found himself in the master bedroom. Light streamed in from the windows, covered by … what? Fluffy lace?
Repelled by the sight of so much light and fluff, Ball Gag … at first hesitantly, then with more sureness in his steps … marched to the hallway. His leather straps scraped along the floor, but apparently no one was home to hear the racket. He tucked up his tiny arms and legs and rolled clackety-clack down the stairs, clambered out the mail slot and onto the front walk.
“FREEDOM!” he screamed again and began to run.
That was when the cops spotted him.
“Catch him!” they cried, talking to each other and calling into the precinct on their radios. “It’s a running gag!!”
– – –
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SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Not sure where you found that photo of the young woman with the ball gag in her mouth, but it certainly added a hint of credibility at the beginning of the story. Groan at the end, but it was a laughing groan.
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I just couldn’t figure out anything to say about running gags. Then I had a vision of Mel Brook’s “High Anxiety” and I starting laughing and writing 🙂 The groan was earned!
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Ha, brilliant and… groan 🙂
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Thanks for the groan. I needed that 🙂
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Initially, I thought this was a long complicated pun, but then I realized I wrote a shaggy dog story … a long joke leading to a punny punchline. I’m so proud of me 🙂 I wrote my very first original joke!!! Maybe I should go into standup?
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Bahahahahaha!
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My very first joke!! I never wrote a whole joke before 🙂
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The running gag was last seen on Joy Street….
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In the combat zone?
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