Ogden Nash : 19th Aug 1902 - 19th May 1971I first came across Ogden Nash, when he saved my sappy ass, many moons ago, when I used to leave the loose federation of States called America, by way of his home city of Baltimore.
Saying goodbye to the North Star of my life at the airport, the flight was delayed, and buying, by myself, some reading matter and beer for us at the terminal store I spotted a tiny book of his poems and gave it a flick through. What I found was a delightful kindred spirit to us both, someone who was prepared to jump into an ocean of words and splash about in it.
It also had in it, the best left field romantic poem I had ever read; ( if you really want to know what a sap I can be then go find and read " To my Valentine" yourself ) and not being one for overt melodrama an' all...I bought the tiny tome, folded down the corner of that page, and secretly slipped it in her pocket come all the huggin' at the boarding gate later.
Over the years I have delighted in reading everything Ogden managed to publish in his 68 years... and he's even encouraged me to feel free to cobble around with things that I write too, ( much to the annoyance of my editors ) but hey, if you can't make up a word here or there, then what's the fun in that.
Some of his poems are national treasures in the USA...such as the "Line-Up for Yesterday," which is an alphabet of famous baseball players, that many a young merkin lad has learned.
And what about his sage advice to young Husbands-to-be on the eve of their weddings:
So Happy Birthday for today Ogden, and I'm sure all the KMSA will join me in raising a glass to someone who brought a smile to our lives.
Sir Dayvd (who knows Oggy would have loved the title at the beginning) of Oxford-not-by-the-sea.
Ah, yes, perhaps Sir Ogden of Nash? We need another Feast Day on our KMSA calendar, so Why Not Make it for the birthday of the one who gave us..."Candy is Dandy but Liquor is Quicker"!
ReplyDeleteAll this time, after years of making up words and misspelling, I thought I was a grammar challenged BOIE! LOL! I'm a freakin' GENUUS!
But not as good as the one who wrote...The Wasp:
The wasp and all his numerous family
I look upon as a major calamity.
He throws open his nest with prodigality,
But I distrust his waspitality.
Sir Hook the Calamity James of Warrick
Another great one!
ReplyDeleteI often wonder which is mine:
Tolerance, or a rubber spine?
Sir Hook Who Now Has a Titanium Spine Thanks to His Wreck of Warrick
the North Star of your life - what a lucky lucky woman to have such a romantic man in her life all these years - made me smile -
ReplyDeleteand I believe ON would've approved of your title!
Lady Suz
the merkin
well this was supposed to go up on Wednesday.....lol....but i'm sure Oggy..like Lewis Carroll, would have delighted in celebrating an Un-Birthday...as lets face it we get 364 of those...so more reasons to raise a glass.
ReplyDeletenah Suz...believe me... I'm the lucky one :))
Sir Dayvd(the Un-Merkin)of Cow-Town
Our dog Uli is proof of Mr.Nash's brilliance:
ReplyDeleteDoor: What a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of.
He also said:
Every Englishman is convinced of one thing, viz.: That to be an Englishman is to belong to the most exclusive club there is.
Not as exclusive as KMSA, of course.
Sir Bowie "Do you think my mind is maturing late, or simply rotted early?" of Greenbriar
Happiness is having a scratch for every itch.
or having someone who loves you scratch your itch...
ReplyDeleteLady S
it's off to see babies I go now - Sir Hook the quads born were going home Saturday to Fairfield
...Yikes... 4 of them!!!! that's what is called a sudden change in circumstances.
ReplyDeleteSir B..humbling to say, Oggy got it spot on regarding the "Englishman" quote .. lol...tho it pains me to admit it... lol...as they say on "The Wire" in Baltimore these days, "Dat True"
Sir D of redOx
Sorry for my premature blogulation! That's what happens when you get too excited! LOL! Perhapds, I'm quicker than liquor! LOL! And before the man who belongs to that exclusive club across the pond tries to "take a piss" at me....NO SHE DIDN'T SAY THAT LAST NIGHT! LOL!
ReplyDeleteWOW! The quads were from my hometown! Cool! Glad they're healthy...and not mine!
Sir Hook Who's Favorite Bar Has Liquor Up Front and Poker In the Rear of Warrick
A book of poetry with a dog-eared page slipped into her pocket during an airport good bye? Fetch Momma her salts, I believe I just may swoon.
ReplyDeleteLady T. (who says she doesn't have a romantic bone in her body, but totally does) of Pickerington
So....THAT is where you get all your sayings and such!!! God bless the writings of Ogden Nash....otherwise Sir Dave's sometimes musings would be booring and no fun! Haha.....
ReplyDeleteSir Richard Lion-hearted and Beaver-loving......do you think the folks at Beaver Creek miss me? Probably not.......