Poetry Challenge #92: This Plum is Too Ripe . . .
All of us is sorry for or about something. (If you’re not, then lucky you!)
My All-Time Favorite Musical—if you’ve never seen it, you should be sorry.
Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones drew on this uniquely human need* to apologize in a song about two neighbors who are great friends until they tear down a wall in the longest running Off-Broadway, sometimes on Broadway musicals of all times The Fantastiks. Here’s a snippet:
“This Plum is too Ripe!”
“Sorry.”
“You’re standing in MY Rose Garden!”
“Sorry.
And now, with no further apologies, on to our prompt:
Poetry Challenge #92
Who’s Sorry Now?
For this prompt, list things you are sorry for. (Your list can be as long or as short as need be.) Select one or several items that are related from that list and write a poem about it.
Finish the poem with a positive spin by suggesting ways you can, or might apologize. Or do it better next time . . .
* “Uniquely” in that I don’t imagine whale apologize for combing up krill, or cheetah apologize for mowing down gazelle, but maybe they do . . . if so: Sorry!
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
No Apologies, No excuses—Just do it!
Song for Inspiration: Who’s Sorry Now as sung by Miss Patsy Cline—Of course!
*Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge more than 3 years ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
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For the Record: Story Behind Guinness's Book
To paraphrase Patsy, Have I got records on my mind! How could I not? My huge worry, since Jumpstart selected NOT NORMAN as its READ FOR THE RECORD© book for 2015, is that You-We-They might not to sign up to read on Oct. 22nd?! And miss what could be—will be if you help—The World’s Largest Shared Reading Experience ever—for The Record!
What exactly is The Record???
Well, since you asked: Guinness World Records (GWR), formerly known as The Guinness Book of Records and The Guinness Book of World Records, is an annually published listing of world records of “both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world.”
Sir Hugh Beaver, Quite the Shot!
On the record: As it happened, Sir Hugh Beaver, Chairman of Guinness Breweries, on a shooting party in the North Slob, the morning of Nov. 10, 1951, took a shot at a golden plover, and missed—Lucky Plover, that!
An argument between the no doubt grumpy Sir Hugh and his cronies erupted over which was the fastest game bird in Europe: the golden plover or the red grouse? Later, back at Castlebridge House, while attempting to settle the argument, Sir Hugh realized it was impossible! There was no reference book to confirm what he knew to be true—that the golden plover was indeed Europe’s fastest game bird. (BTW: It is.[7][8]) Harumph!
1st Edition, Aug. 27, 1955
It struck Sir Hugh that there were undoubtedly “numerous other questions debated nightly in pubs throughout Ireland and abroad,” -hopefully over pints of Guinness-but no book with which to settle such arguments. As one would, Sir Hugh took the problem to work with him.
As they say, the rest is, on Aug. 27th—my mom’s birth date—60 years history! The 1st Guinness Book of Records, a 198-page edition was presented to top-selling Guinness sellers for Christmas.
“It was a marketing give away – it wasn’t supposed to be a money maker.”
Speaking of Records: The book itself holds a world record: It’s the Best-selling copyright book of all time! (Excluding non-copyright works such as the Bible and the Koran.) And, although GWR doesn’t currently hold this record, (it did until 2000), it’s one of the Most Frequently Stolen Library Books in the U.S.[3] (Can’t tell you what’s #1. The FBI compiled a list—but it’s top secret.)
Call me obsessed, but I did a search to find out if there were any World Record Goldfish.
I found some:
World's Longest Goldfish: Measured 47.4 cm (18.7 in) from snout to tail-fin end on 24 March 2003 in Hapert, The Netherlands.
World’s Biggest Goldfish: Raphael Biagini spent 6 years hunting for the legendary “Giant Goldfish” in the south of France
More about whopper-sized goldfish: “How Big Do Goldfish Get?”
But, I didn’t find any record for the Most People Reading a Goldfish Book or for the Most Widely Read Goldfish. (Norman could so set that one—He is a voracious reader!)
Which means, on Oct. 22nd we’re going for THE TRIPLE CROWN (gold, of course)! Sign Up now to Read for the Record!
http://www.jstart.org/campaigns/read-for-the-record
For The Record Playlist:
Have You Got Leaving on Your Mind, sung by Patsy Cline
Let’s Here it for the Fish…er, Boy, sung by Deniece Williams
And in case, like Norman, you aspire to greatness: How to Set A World Record