Karen of Baking in a Tornado has joined us in this crazy pursuit. Welcome!
Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey is taking a break due to her husband's health issue. Let's continue to send warm thoughts, good energy, and lots of prayers their way as her latest update unfortunately does not bring good news.
I have something more to ask of you: If you read this and the poetry of others, would you please leave a comment. Half - if not more - the fun of these challenges is receiving the responses of others.
My mother was prone to mis-explanations, as when they went from left- to right-hand traffic in Sweden, and Mother told me that lorries, buses and so on changed this Sunday with smaller cars and bikes following the week after. I was only 6 and my trust in my mother warred with incredulity in my small brain for quite a while. Something like this: "Mom is always right, but not changing all at the same time leads to traffic accidents; zillions of them, but Mom is always right. But all those accidents. The roads will be blocked, but Mom is always right." I don't remember how I resolved this.
Of course cars, buses, lorries and bikes in Sweden all changed from left to right on the very same day! (Sunday September 3 1967) And we watched on TV.
To come to the core of the matter. Once I asked her where spaghetti came from.
Where do spaghetti come from?
When I was small, my mother told
How near the gentle river Po,
In Italy the farmers grew
In rows, like reeds, spaghetti.
Harvested them,
Immature stem,
The moment they were ready
And if perchance they should mature,
This sometimes happened for sure
In Italy in summer time
For Luigi and for Tony.
The ripened reed,
Hollow indeed
Turned into macaroni.
The macaroni of my childhood. |
And it IS even national spaghetti day in USA today :)
Next Mondays topic from Diane: Our LEAST favourite chore!
I have long had a vision of fields of golden spaghetti, waving in the sun shortly before harvest so I can totally understand your mother...
SvarSletI suspect a common source - some urban myth or maybe just SpikesBestMates Spaghetti trees.
SletBut yes, it sounds like a wonderful sight.
Your mother had a fun sense of humor.
SvarSletI was so naive when I was young I absolutely would have believed her. Now I can say that I would have loved knowing her.
SvarSletThank you. I was naive as well. She frequently made me believe atrocities like these :) It was fun. She's still alive, but older of course, and not telling so many hight tales any more.
SletMy husband used to tell the grandchildren about planting spaghetti seeds. One of the children wrote a funny poem about that also.
SvarSletSpaghetti seeds. Now I want some. Funny poems from grandchildren sounds great. Something to look forward to for me.
SletIs it spaghetti which is tasty, or is it the sauce?
SvarSletGod bless.
Both, I hope ;)
SletWell done, Charlotte. One of our greatest naturalists, David Attenborough, once did a lengthy scene on TV where he walking in the hills of Italy among ancient Spaghetti trees. He described at length how these ancient trees were carefully nurtured until their large seed pods ripened and were cracked open to harvest the lengths of spaghetti curled up inside. It became a huge joke often repeated in 'Old TV Clips' programmes on television as his broadcast was on 1st April - All Fools' Day! A lot of people fell for it!
SvarSletI remember a video showing people out during the 'spaghetti harvest'. There were all these bushes heavily draped with spaghetti and they were gathering it in baskets. It caused a bit of confusion! ;)
SletAs my Mom was a great fan of David Attenborough this could very well be her inspiration. I think I have never seen it and a bit of Googling show the date as 1957 (four years before I was born). Thank you for telling me this fun information.
SletI love your mother! And this poem is PERFECT!
SvarSletThank you on both accounts. Thanks for providing this topic.
SletBoth the change of traffic and the spaghetti stories are so lovely!
SvarSletFun story! My father used to tell tall tales - one was that marshmallows were made from lion's cheeks!
SvarSletThank you ... he sounds like a distant cousin to my mum ;)
Slet