Thursday, May 22, 2008

The Four Seasons by Doug Stay

The Four Seasons

The Days of Summer
Summer hot,
And summer not.

The Days of Fall
Leaves...
Fall.

The Days of Spring
BOING!! BOING!! BOING!!
--Doug Stay


I hope that Doug doesn't mind me posting his poems here. The joke is a lot funnier if you see him performing them himself. First he declaims the title like you're in for some great profound epic. THE DAYS OF SUMMER! Then, in a nonchalant voice, he tosses off his little summer pun. Next come another dramatic title, and another casual pun. In this one, he lifts his hand in a gesture like Hamlet holding Yoric's skull, and says, "Leaves..." with a rising intonation. Then he drops both his hand and his voice with the word, "Fall." A third dramatic title, and suddenly your expectations are shattered when instead of a quiet casual pun, his whole body explodes into action with the "BOING!! BOING!! BOING!!" If you ask him what happened to winter, he give you a little smile as if to say, "I hope I don't have to explain that it's part of the joke to call it the FOUR seasons, and only have THREE poems."

It has always reminded me of the Monty Python bit:
  • NARRATOR: And so Arthur and Bedemir and Sir Robin set out on their search to find the enchanter of whom the old man had spoken in Scene 24. Beyond the forest they met Launcelot and Galahad, and there was much rejoicing.
  • ALL: Yay! Yay!
  • NARRATOR: In the frozen land of Nador they were forced to eat Robin's minstrels. And there was much rejoicing.
  • ALL: Yay!
  • NARRATOR: A year passed. Winter changed into Spring. Spring changed into Summer. Summer changed back into Winter. And Winter gave Spring and Summer a miss and went straight on into Autumn.
or the zen-like "Garden of Five Surprises" in The Terry Pratchett book Thief of Time (Look at page 45-46 in the Google reader if you haven't read the book)

It's been hot and not this last week -- getting up into the hundreds in some places for a few days and then back down where it's comfortable. People complain about the constant hazy cloud cover in early summer, calling it the "June Gloom" but it sure does keep the temperature where it ought to be.

When it did cool down, I opened all the windows and let the breeze cool the house -- we needed the AC even at night when it was hot. I even brought a fan into the office. Elizabeth thinks it's great! She gets surprised and sniffs through her nose every time it blows in her face. She wants to touch it, but I don't think that's a good idea. Today, sitting in the office with the fan off, she kept looking at it in a way that let me know she wanted it turned on. She was so pleased, I thought I'd post a video of her enjoying it.



I also thought I'd post a pictures of Elizabeth and Anna wearing matching outfits, since I did the same thing with Kate and the daisies.

1 comment:

  1. I like Doug's poem. Indeed Summer hot, and summer not… cute. Also cute about Elizabeth and the fan, and Elizabeth and Anna.

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