In front of a townhome in the Southwinds development in Austin stand the three wise men: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

But sometimes the three Wisemans are inside that home: Bob, Olive and Rob.

The Wisemans, Bob and Olive and their son Rob, have been joking about being the three Wisemans for quite some time. The couple lives in southwest Austin, while Rob, a professor at Michigan State University, lives with his wife, Crystal.

Olive said they used to sign their Christmas cards, "The Three Wisemans." And for the first time, Bob decided to buy a set of three wise men for the front yard. While the family thinks the joke is clever, no one seems to get it, they said.

"The neighbors haven't said anything," she said.

The Wisemans have lived in Austin for most of their lives. Bob was a ski instructor and the couple briefly lived in Colorado before coming back to Austin. Bob and Olive celebrated their 55th anniversary Dec. 5.

Rob earned his doctorate from the University of Minnesota and teaches business management.

Some might say Rob is genuinely a "wise man." His parents think so. Olive said he and his students won a business competition earlier this year and said Rob speaks at several conferences and universities throughout the year.

The joke has been a part of most of Rob's life. He remembers his father put up a sign in front of their cabin in 1963 that read "The Three Wisemans."

"That's my first recollection of referring to us as the three Wisemans," he said. "We always joked about it around Christmas."

Rob has tried to carry on the joke in Michigan as well, but is met with the same blank expressions his parents experience. At a recent department holiday party, each professor had to bring an ornament. As a joke Rob brought an ornament of the three wise men, but he had to explain the pun to his colleagues.

"They didn't get it," he said.

But the wise men were on his Christmas cards this year. The cards feature a Far Side cartoon about the fourth wiseman.

"He brought a fruit cake and was turned away," he said with a chuckle.

Olive also shared a joke about the three wise men, proposing that if they would have been the three wise women the story would have been different.

"They would have gotten there on time, helped with the birthing and made a hot dish," she said with a smile.

Her son does not think the wise men did too badly.

"Men have better timing. We show up after the work is done," Rob said jokingly.

Cari Quam can be reached at 434-2235 or by e-mail at cari.quam@austindailyherald.com