April: Enjoy it While it’s Here
They might call April the “cruelest month,” but we’ve seen how hot things can get out in the field in July. Things do get hot on the 15th, but in the rest of the month, things are a lot lighter, with occasions like these: April 9th is Name Yourself Day. Yes, you can name yourself that day. The 22nd is National Jelly Bean Day. Best of all, though, is the 23rd. That’s Talk Like Shakespeare Day. Here’s some tips from the TLSD website: “Instead of you, say thou or thee (and instead of y’all, say ye). Men are Sirrah, ladies are Mistress. Instead of cursing, try calling your tormenters jackanapes or canker-blossoms or poisonous bunch-back’d toads.” Reminds us of something the Washington Post published years ago—see related item below on the Hokey Pokey.
The Hokey Pokey – Shakespearean Style
The Washington Post Style Invitational contest asked readers to submit “instructions” for something (anything) written in the style of a famous person. Here’s the winning entry:
O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke,
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release from Heaven’s yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the poke—banish now thy doubt
Verily, I say, ‘tis what it’s all about.
—by “William Shakespeare,” aka Jeff Brechlin, Potomac Falls, Md.
Talking Turkey
As long as we’re on the subject of “national days,” let’s not forget Bob Wills Day, celebrated April 26 in Wills’ hometown of Turkey, Texas. Since the Permian Basin is moving eastward, Turkey qualifies as for honorary or even non-honorary (official?) Permian status. On the 26th, that modern master of Western swing, Billy Mata, comes to the Bob Wills Museum to do a show with The Texas Playboys. Go to bobwillsday.com for details. And then get goin’ to Turkey and enjoy some fine swing songs. Cut a rug. Maybe even do ye olde Hoke Poke.
Word of the Month: FLARE
Flare: to burn with an unsteady flame (Merriam-Webster Dictionary); to burn (a jet of waste gas) in the open air; n., the burning of unwanted gas through a pipe (also called a flare). Flaring is a means of disposal used when there is no way to transport the gas to market (Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary). As used in a sentence: “The issue of stopping or not stopping gas flaring in Nigeria appears to be running on a roller coaster track.” —from “To Flare or Not to Flare,” by Joachim Ezeji