Counting 1,2,3

 

Counting rhymes are neat. I vaguely remember them from elementary school days. Seeing who was next in a game, or seeing who was “it” in a game. Or just plain counting for the fun of it. So many. And some of them mashed up into longer rhymes or ones with several verses. Seems to have been first found in England, then made it to America.

 

Eeny, meeny, minny, moe, catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers let him go, eeny, meeny, minny, moe, my, mother, told, me, to, pick, the, very, best, ONE!

 

Also can be used to play a form of MASH (which was a HUGE thing in junior high!!) You ask the question and then start counting for the answer, using buttons, tokens, etc to count.

 

Q: When shall I marry?

A: This year, next year, sometime, never.

(I guess if you landed on “never” your turn would end right there…)

 

Q: What will my husband be?

A: Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief.

(American version was: Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, doctor, lawyer, Indian chief)

 

Q: What will I be?

A: Lady, baby, gypsy, queen.

 

Q: What shall I wear?

A: Silk, satin, cotton, rags / silk, satin, velvet, lace / silk, satin, muslin, rags

 

Q: How shall I get it?

A: Given, borrowed, bought, stolen.

 

Q: How shall I get to church?

A: Coach, carriage, wheelbarrow, cart.

 

Q: Where shall I live?

A: Big house, little house, pig sty, barn.

 

Fun times.

 

The Rubayyat by Omar Khayyam

 

 

Many times I’ve mentioned my 4^th grade teacher, Dee Malloy, who opened up the world of classic lit and poetry. At the time, I didn’t know that what we were exposed to was some of the classics. It wasn’t until many years later that my mom gave me a small book of poems by Omar Khayyam. It was beautifully illustrated, and as I read through it I started recognizing some of the poems we read in school. I have since collected several versions of the Rubayyat. Here are a few of my favorites translated by Edward Fitzgerald.

 

Awake! For Morning in the Bowl of Night

Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight

And Lo! The Hunter of the East has caught

The Sultan’s Turret in a Noose of Light.

 

Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring

The Winter Garment of Repentance fling:

The Bird of Time has but a little way

To fly – and Lo! The Bird is on the Wing.

 

A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,

A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread, – and Thou

Beside me singing in the Wilderness –

Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!

 

The moving finger writes; and, having writ,

Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit

Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,

Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.

 

Strange, is it not? That of the myriads who

Before us pass’d the door of Darkness through

Not one returns to tell us of the Road,

Which to discover we must travel too.

 

Feast of the Seven Fishes

 

Apparently this is a big thing for Italian-Americans. I heard of it for the first time on The Five when they were telling about their favorite Christmas Eve traditions. You can look it up on Wikipedia for the reasons this became a thing 40+ years ago.

 

So basically you are supposed to eat seven different fish dishes on Christmas Eve. Now, I’m not all that thrilled with fish except for a very few items. I looked at what was common for a Seven Fishes dinner and saw that seafood was included as part of the 7, Some seafood I love. Looking at the list, I immediately DQ’d stuff like octopi, squid, and other sea monsters, along with a lot of regular fish. I tried to pick 7 different things I would actually put in my mouth.

 

1.Breaded fish fillets. The kind you get in the freezer section.

 

2.Whatever fish that H. Salt Fish & Chips used. LOVED those! Was sad when the one in Oroville went out of business.

 

3.Fried clam strips. There was a restaurant in Chico many years ago named Lyons that served those on a bed of shredded lettuce.

 

4.Scallops!!! The Hatchcover in Chico had those and whenever Marv and I wanted to go someplace fancy, that’s where we’d and that’s what we’d order.

 

5.Deep fried shrimp. ALWAYS a winner!

 

6.Scampi. Same.

 

7.Lobster. We’ve only eaten that ONE time at a friend’s house many years ago, and it was GREAT!

 

I have never truly cooked fish or seafood in my life, and never intend to. If I can’t stick it in the oven, or eat it at a restaurant, or at someone’s house where THEY have done the cooking…nope. Maybe Uber Eats or Door Dash…

 

Mangiare Bene!