Poems

Anniversary Verse

69 Comments

Calendar

When the significant date of an historic event arrives, all of our analog and digital media get together to transmit in a variety of ways what I’ve decided to call a Calendar Reactive Anniversary Pile On, or CRAPO.

That’s a bit coarse, I know. But like CRAPO is how I feel each time another somber reflection of past tragedy pops out of the entertainment/information gizmo I had turned to for a little weather or some sports scores.

So on a whim and to lighten the mood I commissioned Trail Baboon sing-song poet laureate Schuyler Tyler Wyler to write a ditty to relentless retrospectives.  Here’s his best effort:

This is The Day. Where Were You When?
Do you feel now like you did then?
On screens or paper, each device
demands you suffer through it twice.

Do you recall the words you said?
The thoughts you had? The things you read?
Devoted decades to delete it?
Write that down for me. I’ll tweet it!

Like planets orbiting a star
the worst news never goes too far.
It disappears a while and then
it comes around again, again.

I told STW he failed with this assignment because the mood is too heavy. He agreed and blamed it on this particular poetic form, which he said is too simplistic to have an official name. He’s decided to call it an Octosyllabic Triple Quadrain with a Hangnail for that one stubborn nine-syllable line in the second word clump. Not that it matters what we call it, but I heard once that dark things can feel less awful if we put a name on them.

Name something you’ve named.

69 thoughts on “Anniversary Verse”

  3. Good morning. It would be nice to think of something I put a name on that is light hearted. Perhaps I will come up with something later today. The best I can come up with right now is those not so good things I call “too much fun”.

    “Too much fun” refers to things I more or less have to do and don’t really want to do. There are a lot of things like this. Any boring job that has to be done over and over again such as dusting or vacuuming could be called “too much fun”. Attending certain events, such as the annual local boy scout pancake supper fund raiser, can be “too much fun”. I think “too much fun” is a phrase I heard some place and adopted for my own use. I don’t know where I picked up this phrase.

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    1. Does referring to vacuuming as “too much fun” make it any more palatable??? If so, I might have to adopt your phrase!

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      1. No, VS, I think labeling vacuuming as “too much fun” probably will not make that chore more palatable. The best suggestion I have for making vaccuming more palatable is to have a beverage available as a reward for doing this unpleasant task.

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  4. Morning all! Many stuffed animals named when Child was younger and still a fierce collector of stuffies. Lapin was her favorite big bunny. Rajah a tiger. Some named from places where they originated: Mykonos,/I> the pelican, Cayman the turtle. Some named for other animals we knew: Tuesday a huge black stuffed dog, Gregory the giraffe. Most of the names came from me, although Tuesday was actually Child’s idea.

    Here is today’s “Where in the World is Verily Sherrilee” clue. When I looked out toward the horizon last night I could see tim’s favorite constellation. Translation of the city name is “nest of serpents”.

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        1. And you get paid for this? Rather than envying you, vs, I shall enjoy it vicariously. Have a great time.

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        2. Yep… working. Although now that Offspring is at college, I do have to dig into my own pocket to pay for a house/dog/cat/fish sitter. This is a fairly leisurely trip as this client does not like to go from meeting to meeting or activity to activity so I have a little more time to myself. Brought the last of my solstice cards and projects with me and also four books!

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        3. the bus ride to the ruins in tulum are great from there. the underground river is cool and the mini chechen itza feel of tulum is very nice,

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        4. Unfortunately am not getting client to do anything fun although tomorrow we’ll be tooling around checking the locations of all the activities. We won’t go all the way to Tulum (which is great) but we will probably go to the starting point of Rio Secreto. I’m not a huge fan of caves, so underground caves combined with water is definitely not my first choice. After ziplining in Costa Rica last week, I’m feeling like I’ve done my brave thing for the decade, so just as well that client isn’t interested in actually going down into the cave!

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        5. isnt that funny. i was wondering what caves you are talking about. i guess there have to be caves in order for the river to be underground. it never felt that way

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    1. WordPress does not like me much anymore either. Apparently today I am acceptable, however, I entered the same password I entered for the last several posts. It always works on my laptop, but the iPad entries are more suspect I guess. That, and really distressing internet problems at the office, explain my recent absence.

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      1. I typed in (and then cut and pasted in) several posts yesterday on baboondocks that never saw the light of day. Today seems OK, although WP has asked me for my password a couple of times now. I thought it was just me, but maybe not!

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        1. I had the exact same experience, Jacque and vs. For me it started late in the afternoon on Wednesday, and carried over to late yesterday evening. Same computer, absolutely nothing different in terms of equipment or anything. I even sent Dale an email suggesting that this problem may be at least partially the reason for low response to the blog. The funny thing was that although my posts didn’t show up on the blog, if I tried to submit the same post again, I’d get the message that I had already submitted that response. Go figure.

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        2. I never “log in” here. I just type my email and name in the boxes (if working on my own laptop, it is already filled in) and click on “Post Comment.” And I have never had any problems posting – or if I have had problems, very few compared to some of you. Maybe y’all should try that method. Of course, you will end up with some doily instead of your picture. And if you are trying that method and still have trouble, then I’ve got nothing to help.

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  6. Besides naming my cars, I’ve also named my laptop computers. First laptop was an Apple called Boudicca, second was an HP called Harriet, current machine is a Gateway called Gunnhilde. I don’t name my work computers, since I’m never sure how long I’ll be someplace and I don’t want to get too attached, but if I ever get a permanent job, I think I will.

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    1. CG — love your computer names. Was Boudicca a particularly fierce computer? While I’m a car-namer (Zippy, Civetta, Ivy), I never thought about my pcs.

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  7. Rise and Shine Baboons!

    We will see where this entry posts itself. The last one was to be under Sherrilee’s post above. This website is like a puppy–wandering, untrainable and a bit unpredictable! But at least it is allowing me to post today. (Thank you Dale for not asking me where I was the day Kennedy was shot).

    I name many things–child, business, dogs, my mother’s gift books at Christmas (working on one now), the symptom in my mother’s family that occurs when one goes shopping and immediately must find a bathroom (The Hess Affliction), Himmacanes. Always a fun challenge.

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  8. I don’t name cars, computers, vacuum cleaners or other inanimate objects. I don’t even think I named my dolls or teddy bear when I was a kid. I have named numerous cats and dogs, a bird or two, a hamster, a turtle, and a chinchilla.

    I was given the chinchilla while I was working at the Endocrinology Lab at SIU. A woman had bought a bunch of them with the intention of raising them for their beautiful, soft fur. When they arrived, she thought they were too cute for that, so she tried to find a new home for them. I took one and named her Juanita Chinchilla. I don’t know how old Juanita was when I got her, but after a couple of months she gave birth to two kits, that unfortunately didn’t survive in Carbondale’s summer heat. I had Juanita Chinchilla ten years before she crossed the rainbow bridge.

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  9. Husband is good at names. He recently christened one of the local elementary school principals “Mr. Reep the six foot creep”. My first doll was a large plastic creation with molded hair. I named her Lulu, I think, since my dad used to sing “Lulu’s back in town” a lot. My children and I all named stuffed animals. Son had Emily dinosauer, Daughter had a favorite teddy named after one of the bears on Bananas in Pajamas, but the name escapes me.

    For those who may have left the baboondocks early last night, I posted the baklava recipe.

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    1. I wonder what we could name the ” unreasonable fear of phyllo dough”? If any baboons need pointers for working with phyllo, let me know.

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        2. I have that. Have only tried working with the stuff once; from now on I’ll buy the frozen stuff.

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  10. Husband’s nickname, given to him by a former roommate years ago, is Kiffey, which is, I understand, an Irish diminutive for Christopher. Husband refers to himself as Dazzle, and the children call him Dazzledad.

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    1. SInce I have the time this morning, I am happy to announce that husband’s sleep problems have almost disappeared since he got the cpap machine and the medication for the nightmares. He hasn’t had a nightmare for a month, and feels rested and alert when he wakes up.

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      2. woo hoo now he can be there for every moment of winter on the north dakota plains during the oil rush of the new millenium. glad to hear he is back in the saddle. hope it continues being a good fix. it mmust make a huge difference in the outlook toward life he wakes up with.

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        1. I understand that CPAP is the answer for some people with sleep disorders. I have the feeling that it is being over sold by people at our medical clinic. The CPAP didn’t seem to solve my sleep problem. After being told it might help, I found that it didn’t. The doctor told me after I was tested and tried using the device that I it seems I only have minor problem with sleep apnea which is why CPAP didn’t improve my sleep.

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        2. True. Seems like CPAP is one of those things that is either “just the ticket” or really not. I will admit some bias towards it because of how much it improved my dad’s life on many levels. He definitely had severe sleep apnea, which was at the root of other health issues. Getting CPAP (& well adjusted CPAP) had a huge positive impact. That said, it is not a cure-all, and not for everyone.

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  11. I don’t think I can post from work but it’s worth a try. I’ve never been overly creative with names, but #1 grandboy named me Bocker for no known reason and it has stuck. I love it and feel that being a Bocker is akin to being a Tigger – I’m the only one!

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    1. ill have to wait and see if i ever have a grandkid callme anything but i tend to think goopoo or gwamp is not going to be a handle i will embrace. i do like bocker though.

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    2. My plan (hopefully Offspring will help bring this to fruition someday – but not too soon) is to be Nana. My grandmother was Nana and HER grandmother was Nana. My mom uses Nonny, which was HER grandmother’s name.

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      1. My mother’s mother was “Nownie.” Everyone in our family called her that. When I was a kid I asked someone how she got that name. They told me that nobody really knew, but that I was the one who invented it.

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  12. naming things comes pretty easy for me. when i started in the selling business there would be new products that would come up and need to be named. sidewalk deicer product named rid ice. headpnones called tunz a line of products called gardenese for awnings and hand tools i name bugs too krista. my kids used to freak out over bugs when they were little. i told them the bugs lived here and we are just visiting. boxelder bugs eat dust they can have mine, wasps and hornets come in but usually not after me the are confused and in the wrong place but usually just fine until someone starts whippibng a towel at them trying to get them herded out the screen door. my sister would dig worms in the back yard and they were all named charlie for some reason. she would come in with her can of charlies. i just collaborated with my old bandmate on a piece he had whipped up on the piano. he said he had lots of music but never had the words. i told him i could be the ira gershwin end of the team if he wanted to start whipping stuff my way, we’ll see. pets are a colaborative effort these days, when i was the only one living with the pets and felt ok about naming them without consulting others the names were usually provided to me by a naming muse that appeared when i needed her. birds cats dogs a couple of fish but not to many. fish seem fine without names my kids all appreciate names. i ran into a checkout lady at the grocery store the other day . her name was jill. i told her i thought the name jill was wonderful. it sounds happy and pull of energy. she said she had never liked her name. she never knew anyone else named jill and she got lots of jack and jill jokes. she said people who are repeating her name from hearing others call her joe, somethig about the ll’s disappear in the spoken sentences. hey jill hows it going turns into joe. the other lady who was next in line found that interesting too and they were still discussing jills name when i left. asperagustandme bangrod from my 12 grade english project and gilligan mahoskawitz as my newspaper byline identity and restaurant paging name are two of my more memorable name endeavors. my grandfather from fargo was john, went by jb to most and jack to some. i always think of jack with jfk and jb. when jb needed to get assisted living help the last year or two his housekeeper couldnt understand why all these grandkids ten in town and 7 more regular visitors always referred to him as jb , never grandpa or anything like that. they call me jb because thats my name was his response. names are great. bob dylan chose his, crow girl chose hers, mark twain, gilligan mahoskowitz, not as catchy as i once thought… another old hippy premise outlives its intent. (the name not me)

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  13. My brother-in-law is great with names. His own infant daughter was “Fartblossom”. Our nephew-son whose real name is Govinda, and who went by Vin starting age seven, became “Vin Louie”. My own naming isn’t as adventurous – dolls were Margaret Ann and Miss Joan; cats were Katten, Charlie, … although Slush(ball) was kind of fun – was part Siamese and named Snowball, but he didn’t stay white as an adult cat.

    OT: BiR and Linda have signed on to help Steve with his basement clean-out, and we can imagine a Baboon gathering might be fun. Kind of like a free store, where some of the items available are: bird feeder, wind chimes, bike helmet, crow bar, socket set, Penzey’s spices….There will also be an opportunity to help with some yard clean-up, things like removing dead foliage & leaves, cutting down volunteer trees, and taking the results to the compost site. Thinking of Thanksgiving weekend (which is SUPPOSED to be mild)… email BiR if you’re interested: mmbbhassing@usfamily.net

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  14. Apologies for my spotty attendance online. Busy days at work have stolen my brain.

    What have I named. Hmm. Besides a kid and a few stuffed animals, not much. I used to name the paint colors I would mix for my stage sets, but the names were often quite long so I don’t remember them well (names like “Not Quite Elvis’ Kitchen Green” and a few not fit for polite conversation…). Given that I am not even a tenth of the way to the standard NaNoWriMo goal, naming a novel is probably not in my “to do” list either.

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  15. Well – I’m the proud owner of a Mactop. Other than this, I a long, long time ago, named my beloved cat and best friend “Timothy Gruncheon Grooms? Timmy live to the ripe old age of 20. His middle name was the result of a little girl who lived next door to my grandparents who had polio. In my small child’s mind, I envied her because she got to walk around on crutches with braces on her legs getting tons of attention. Feeling utterly starved of this myself, and being too young to pronounce the name “Gretchen” (her name), it translated into “Gruncheon”. In other words, Timmy’s middle name came from my jealousy of a little girl on crutches. See how that works?

    OT: My stay at the hospital near the Mayo Clinic earlier this week resulted in very little new information. The four neurologists there concluded that I had a condition which even I had never encountered: Irritable Brain Syndrome. This condition is one in which constant misfiring electrical discharges in one lobe of my brain, although technically not seizures, tee me up for the “big one”. They sent me home the very next day, saying that “After 36 hours of constant monitoring, we doubt that we’d see anything different if you stayed a whole week”. Although I’d gone there wanting a full-blown diagnosis, enlightenment, and release from the label of epilepsy, they at least tossed me a brand new medical term which I can now research ( I’m obsessed with researching). Also, having gone to the top of the medical food chain, I can now know that I’ve done everything possible. This, I suppose, made it all worthwhile.

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  17. I have no talent for naming. When I was about four I was invited to name the new (well, you know, new used) car in our family. I called it “Bowser.” I was told I’d given a dog name to a car.

    Over the years I’ve watched with interest as other people name things in their worlds. I’m not sure I learned much. I will say to the ladies that when they encounter a man who has a special name for *that* part of his body (like “the Hammer” or “Big John”) it is time to run the other way.

    One of my best friends was a passionate but monstrously inept bird hunter. He bought a gorgeous and expensive double-barrel shotgun once, calling it “Lola” (from the song in Damn Yankees “Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets”). After buying Lola, Jerry discovered how truly awful he was at shooting, and that put a twist on the name “Lola.” He had meant to give his shotgun a name that reflected danger and beauty, but instead the name came to be a terrible joke on him because Lola just proved to him how pretentious he had been to buy such a glamorous gun. Jerry might have been happy with a plain Jane pump shotgun named Bob, but spending time with gorgeous Lola was acutely embarrassing.

    In college I sometimes dated a pretty woman with a great figure. Her name was Georgia. Georgia was a treat to look at, but when we were out I always discovered (again) that she had nothing to say. I kept doing that. When we hadn’t dated for a while I’d see her on campus and tell myself it would be good to date her. Then I’d do it and remember why we weren’t boyfriend/girlfriend. Decades later I gambled by buying an incredibly lovely bamboo fly rod from a maker who didn’t have a great reputation for quality. I never owned a prettier rod, but it was terrible at casting. I kept using it, each time thinking the casting action couldn’t be as bad as I remembered . . . but then it always was. I named that rod “Georgia.” I finally found someone gullible enough to take it as a gift..

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    1. good stories. bowser for the car says it all. when i was a kid my dad bought a book called instinct shooting and i used it for guns and putting. just point your gun over thataway and let er rip. an idea about where it is supposed to go works better than trying to look down the barrel and decide where the bird will be as it is flying

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  18. By the way, Dale, I really enjoyed your post. Am getting SO tired of reliving every event like this. Calendar Reactive Anniversary Pile On (CRAPO) is going into the next G.O.A.T. update. Not that JFK’s assassination and the Gettysburg Address shouldn’t be remembered, but My God… for days on end??

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    2. they are putting it on for me. i cant get too much of it. i love all the trivisa and miniscule detaials. new stuff galore 50 years later for me. now if i could only remember the name of the little girl in my class that upon hearing the presidednt wewas dead went immeadiatly into a keening tpe of cry that could not be quieted. heck i was 8 what di i know. she obviously had a different feeling fo rhim than i did. i can see her face so clearly. i bet i have her name in a day or two

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  19. testing here… since baboondocks doesn’t like me this morning. wonder if it’s a wp thing or a baboondocks thing….

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