Thursday, August 25, 2005

Too Proud

I'm having a busy week. Nothing exciting of course. Excitement is not my middle name. Actually, I kinda, sorta, don't have a middle name really. Oh! Caught myself just in time. I was about to digress, which I hardly ever do as you all know. But, no, I stopped myself.

I'm not gonna tell you about how I hate my first name, and so I always used my middle name, but then after I married, I dropped the first name altogether and went with the middle name, which is now my first name, and then stuck my maiden name in where my middle name used to be, and so now, in a kinda, sorta way, I don't have a middle name.

Not going to go into that. Not at all. Didn't digress one tiny, itty-bitty bit.

I'm so proud.

I remind myself of a Shel Silverstein poem, called Smart:

"My dad gave me one dollar bill
'Cause I’m his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
'Cause two is more than one!

And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes – I guess he don't know
That three is more than two!

Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just 'cause he can't see
He gave me four nickels for my three dimes,
And four is more than three!

And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for them,
And five is more than four!

And then I went and showed my dad,
And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head –
Too proud of me to speak!"


Bet you all feel the very same way about me! Too proud of me to speak.
*bowing*

27 comments:

BarbaraFromCalifornia said...

If you are comparing yourself to Shel, you are indeed in the very best of company.

My daughter uses her middle name as well. It has taken some getting used to, but ultimately, we have to be comfortable inside our own skin, with our own labels.

Have a good week TLP!

Lila said...

That's a cute poem. I never heard it before.

mireille said...

and I have input about the kitchen: I say round up everybody who hasn't helped with anything yet and let them finish it. It will help them feel better about themselves. *only thinking of them* xoxo

TLP said...

LOL Barbara, no, I wouldn't compare myself to a talent like Shel Silverstein,or any other person with talent for that matter. I was comparing myself to the dumb kid.

daughters: All his poems are good. I have three books of them. Thanks to Acton Bell.

Mireilli: Great idea! It'll never happen, but it's a great idea.

Monique said...

I've visited your blog a few times but haven't commented here before -- you are hilarious! I love Shel Silverstein.

I too use my maiden name as my middle name, instead of my "real" middle name. Otherwise my initials would now spell MAD. Which I didn't realize until AFTER we had our wedding bands engraved. The inside of my husband's says "Always M.A.D."

Doug The Una said...

Great poem and post. Is that from Where the Sidewalk Ends?

Anonymous said...

That's a great poem. Thanks for posting it.

John said...

Fantastic poem, never heard that one before. I've no idea what value quarters, dimes, nickels are, being English, but I get the general idea.

Urban Chick said...

i love the poem - you just don't hear enough rhyming in poems these days, do you? i applaud it!

Doug The Una said...

ROFLWTIMEWCOM

Minka said...

I am one of seven siblings. I am the only one without a middle name. No, I don´t wanna talk about it either.

Doug, that is real good poetry there. A little Shakespeare in you trying to get out?

Meegan said...

I love Shel Silverstein! And I love digressions. Not that you would know anything about that -- you are very straightforward and to-the-point.

Babette said...

I just shared your poem with my 7 year old son who got a huge kick out of it! Thanks!

Is ap3 your daughter? I'm not so smart sometimes, either!

OldHorsetailSnake said...

I am no fan of poetry, but I will except that one, in spades.

(You mean Lucy isn't really your middle name?)

Libby said...

good one, lucy! (or whoever you are!).
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

TLP said...

Monique: gotta love the M.A.D.

Doug: Yep, Where the Sidewalk Ends

LBB: I'm liking the new pix

Hons: Welcome! Yeah, I'm sure you get it, from a Pound to a few pence.

UChick, you have that in common with Hoss. It has to rhyme.

Monika,Doug is rolling on the floor with his money again.

Meegan: You may be the only person in the world who understands me.

Bonnie: Yes, AP3 and ActonBell are two of my three daughers.

Hoss and LiBbY: It's the real first name that I will never tell people. Talk about ugly!

dddragon said...

oooh, it is SO tempting to tattle ... And then your children AP3 and brother Nivek both are known by their middle names.

Goa'uld said...

Hey, I remember hearing that poem before! Were you the one to tell me it?

TLP said...

You've heard it at church Goa'uld. Once the choir did an entire service reading Silverstein's poems. They are best read aloud. Of course, some need to be seen because the poem is in a shape which is important, or because of a drawing that goes with the poem.

Mikki Marshall said...

okay...this couldn't have happened on a more apropos day.
well, i was over on Aral's site (just reading along) and was marvelling at all of the pez holders which she had and those which she still needed, and i finally figured it out! the names!! all of this time i never knew...are they named after poets? activists? everyone in that family has the most incredible name!!!
well, i almost bust a gut over here this afternoon...i'm still wiping tears.
sad isn't it? it is with great reluctance that i must hit the publish key and admit this...*sigh*

Tom & Icy said...

Woof!

Doug The Una said...

OK, now I know you're Unitarian. Silverstein in Church. Fantastic.

Jamie Dawn said...

That's a cute poem.
The way you digress is kinda cute too.
So, keep doing it!

the many Bs said...

I like your digressions, and I like your poem. And I like your name, whatever it is.
I used to have a first name and a middle name, and I had nicknames for my first name and middle name. It was terribly confusing and never mind, my lack of identity with a single name. So I finally LEGALLY CHANGED my name to ONE first name and ONE middle INITIAL. No middle name - just an initial. It's really fun! Now I know EXACTLY

the many Bs said...

who I am (I digressed and pushed the wrong key above - typing too fast on the wrong keys, I guess). But I was pretty much finished anyway.
Love your posts, whatever your name.

Saur♥Kraut said...

I adore you and your posts, as always, Lucy.

I also changed my name. Strangely enough, when I had my name legally changed, my life also changed for the better. Drastically. And I hadn't thought there would be much of a difference! Now don't laugh: It always made me wonder if some of the superstitions were true; numerology says that you are what your name is. When I added up all the letters in the new name, the result was much more positive than the old one.

I will never change my name if I ever re-marry. I believe that women's names are every bit as important as men's names.

Fred said...

I had to read it three times before it made sense. Was it supposed to make sense?

Of course we feel the same way about you. That's why we're here!