Saturday

Oct. 12, 2002

Limericks

by Various

SATURDAY, 12 OCTOBER 2002
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Poem: Limericks from The Lure of the Limerick.

Once out on the lake and Dubuque
A girl took a sale with a duque
    He remarked, "I am sure
    You are honest and pure'-
And then leaned far over to puque.

There was a young lady of Florence
Who for kissing professed great abhorrence;
    But when she'd been kissed
    And found what she'd missed,
She cried till the tears came in torrents.

Concerning the bees and the flowers
In the fields and the gardens and bowers,
    You will note at a glace
    That their ways of romance
Haven't any resemblance to ours.

A reckless young man from Fort Blainy
Made love to a spinster named Janie.
    When his friends said, 'Oh, dear,
    She's so old and so queer,'
He replied, 'But the day was so rainy!'

A publisher once when to France
In search of a tale of romance;
    A Parisian lady
    Told a story so shady
That the publisher made an advance.

There was a young priest name Delaney
Who said to the girls, "Nota bene,
    'Twould tempt the archbishop
    The way that you swish up
Your skirts when the weather is rainy.'

There was a young man with a hernia
Who said to his doctor, 'Goldernia,
    When improving my middle
    Be sure you don't fiddle
With matters that do not concernia.'

A sleeper from Amazon
Put nighties of his gra'mazon-
    The reason: That
    He was too fat
To get his own pajamazon.

There was a young girl of Darjeeling
Who could dance with such exquisite feeling
    Not a murmur was heard,
    Not a sound, not a word,
But the fly-buttons hitting the ceiling.

There was young fellow named Sydney,
Who drank till he ruined his kidney.
    It shriveled and shrank
    As he sat there and drank,
But he had a good time at it, didn't he?


It's the birthday of tenor Luciano Pavarotti, born in Modena, Italy (1935). He loved music and loved to perform. When he was four he would climb up on the kitchen table and cue for the lights to be turned off and sing La donna e mobile. 1961 was his big year was the year of his real debut in the singing world. He won the international "Achille Peri" prize. He performed at the Teatro Municipale of Reggio Emilia, singing the part of Rodolfo in a performance of La Boheme. He started touring to various Italian opera houses. In 1966 he set a record in Covent Garden by singing the nine high C's of Donizetti's opera La Fille du Regiment. Donizetti had intended them to be sung in falsetto but Pavarotti sang them in full voice. The members of the English royal family were in the audience, and the whole audience was astounded. He later did it again at the MET. He says he plans to retire in 2005 on his 70th birthday. He plans to never sing again, not even in the shower.

It's the birthday of author and psychologist Robert Coles, born in Boston, Massachusetts (1929). Robert Coles graduated from and now teaches and researches at Harvard. He is a professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities at the Harvard Medical School and the James Agee Professor of Social Ethics at the undergraduate university. His course, "The Literature of Social Reflection," is one of the most popular at Harvard. He has written over 60 books including Children of Crisis, The Moral Life of Children, The Political Life of Children, and The Spiritual Life of Children. He said: "We should look inward and think about the meaning of our life and its purposes, lest we do it in 20 or 30 years and it's too late."


Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®

 

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