David Rodeback's Blog

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Limerick Housekeeping

. . . Which is not the same as housekeeping limericks. (Would those be limericks which keep house, or limericks about housekeeping? Dunno.) Things get a little strange by the end, anyway, once the discussion moves beyond an important life lesson.

One concerned reader, upon reading the post in which I announced the winners of the Third Annual Groundhog Day Limerick Contest, helpfully and with some consternation alerted me that someone else sent some entries, which, apparently, I never received.

It's true. I didn't get them, even though he sent them in plenty of time to meet the contest deadline. Technically, I'm off the hook, because the official terms say I have to receive entries by the deadline. However, I'm disinclined to dismiss worthy limericks.

Here, therefore, are two by Californian Philip Nelson:

A groundhog referred to as "Phil"
scampers out from his digs in the hill,
whereupon, seeing crowds,
and because there are clouds,
Punxsy lingers outside in the chill.

And:

A fellow Phil styled Punxsutawney
emerges all fitful and yawny
from his underground suite,
thence to beat a retreat
from a shadow he thinks looks too brawny.

It's true that, without specific confirmation, one should never assume the safe arrival of an e-mail message. As an intelligent and highly-trained legal professional, Philip should know and never forget this. But we want him to remember this crucial life lesson with happy thoughts, not sad ones; it's the "spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down" principle, you see.

So it's executive decision time . . .

I'm implementing said sweetness in three phases. The first is the glory of having his name and his verse published here at the blog. The second is a stanza or two of limerick I haven't even thought up yet, as I write this. The third is a small, tangible token of the blogosphere's debt to him, which I will handle offline.

As to the fresh limerick (second item on the happy list), let's see what comes out . . .

Dear Phil,
         As the judge in this case,
I'm disposed to show mercy, erase
The dark deed that you wrought,
Mailing verse I ne'er got.
I herewith and therefore grant a place

To your lim'ricks, which honor the 'Hog --
Not in legalese, built to befog,
But fair rhyme! Now I merely
End,
         Yours most sincerely,
         (Signed) David, Chief Bard of the Blog

I really had no idea what to do with this post after . . . that. Then the phone rang. It was a woman I know, who lives in another time zone, which I am now thinking is a very good thing. During the course of our brief conversation, she suggested the possibility of her putting on a fake beard she has prepared (!) and sneaking inconspicuously (!) . . . somewhere. I don't even want to know where she might be going, where a bearded woman might be inconspicuous. All I really want to say is -- check that, all I dare to say is -- she's not on my side of the family.

Oh, and this: Happy Tuesday, everyone. Thanks for reading.

Comment on this entry
(Readable, relevant, civilized, substantive responses will be posted, regardless of position.)

Copyright 2010 by David Rodeback.
All rights reserved.
Permission is given to publish this article elsewhere on the Web or via e-mail only under these conditions: The article is published intact and unchanged, and is properly credited to the author; and a visible link is included to the article's page at LocalCommentary.com.