Within every family are a few eccentrics. Whether they are oddballs, lovable curmudgeons, or total crackpots, they’re yours. But, if you can run through the mental Rolodex of relatives and can’t find a nutty one—
Chances are, you are it.
Counting all the peculiarities of your tribe can either be exhausting or everything you need for a secret bingo game at the next family gathering. Rather than get frustrated with Uncle Albert and his aptitude for sharing the same story 20 years and counting, why not have fun with it?
Try It: Family Limericks
Think of a few quirky relatives in your family tree. Why not pay homage to their wackiness with a colorful limerick? Consider a particularly funny moment by theatrical Aunt Enid, a strange habit of your sibling, or any kind of familial oddity. Of course, feel free to change the name of the guilty party. You don’t want to be left out of the will, do you? Go ahead and get started, follow the simple form, and have some fun at their familial expense.
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Featured Poem
Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here is an irreverent limerick from Rick we enjoyed:
More frequent the higher they rise,
their scandals and rhetorical cries—
politicians’ statistics,
misinformed, solipsistic,
corrupt practices, lies and damn lies.
—by Rick Maxson
Photo by Eryne. Creative Commons via Flickr. Post by Heather Eure.
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How to Write a Poem uses images like the buzz, the switch, the wave—from the Billy Collins poem “Introduction to Poetry”—to guide writers into new ways of writing poems. Excellent teaching tool. Anthology and prompts included.
“How to Write a Poem is a classroom must-have.”
—Callie Feyen, English Teacher, Maryland
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Laura Brown says
There once was a cousin from Lima
who drew up a getaway schema.
With her bag packed,
through the hedgerow she hacked
to sneak off and live with her Memaw.
Donna Falcone says
Did she make it?
Laura Brown says
Her parents arranged for a dragnet;
The cops found no trace but an aglet.
“Too young for a car,
she can’t have gone far,”
Mom surmised. “Grandma’s home is a magnet.”
Donna Falcone says
Was her sentence harsh?
LB says
Her running away was no crime.
She returned the next day by bedtime.
All three generations
each in her life station
wore a path through that hedge-hole in time.
Sandra Heska King says
Hysterical!
Donna says
🙂 love
Rick Maxson says
This one could turn into a novel.
Sandra Heska King says
For sure!
Heather Eure says
How fun, Laura. This limerick made me smile.
Donna Falcone says
” if you can run through the mental Rolodex of relatives and can’t find a nutty one—
Chances are, you are it.”
I am still HOWLING! 😀 😀 😀
Rick Maxson says
I thought this was a good one.
Heather Eure says
Glad you liked it!
Donna Falcone says
I remember dear Grandpa O’Neill,
Whose card tricks did always appeal.
He whispered my way
“the next rainy Tuesday
This card caper I will reveal.”
….. and he DID.
Rick Maxson says
Did he tell you how he did it?
Donna Falcone says
YES!!! He DID…. but it took a lot of rainy other days before we hit the next rainy Tuesday! I was watchful, and I think he’d forgotten the specific promise. I guess, to him, it sounded like something he would say, so he made good on it. 😉
Donna Falcone says
Ha ha I bet you were expecting a Limerick response, huh Rick? Just now dawned on me! LOL!
Heather Eure says
Aww. How dear, Donna. I hope you get to pass on the card trick, too.
Donna Falcone says
I can’t remember the trick… 🙂 But it’s a fun story!
Glynn says
She always thought she was hipper,
Finding booze as more than a sipper.
She walked into a bar
To become a new star
And ended a Bourbon Street stripper.
Rick Maxson says
So Bacharach and David probably couldn’t work this into the line “parking cars and pumpin’ gas” and keep within the great melody. Let see how it works limerick style:
The would-be stars all made the trips
to Hollywood and worked for tips,
but now they’re either parkin’ cars
or mixing drinks in grill ‘n bars,
or strippin’ down on Sunset Strip
Maureen says
You’ve found your calling, Rick.
Heather Eure says
Nice.
Heather Eure says
AHAHA!! *snort!*
This is awesome, Glynn.
Rick Maxson says
Uncle Ed, a misogynist’s dream,
married Bessie and made her his queen.
She seldom made passes
by Ed and his glasses,
where he’d hold them out to be cleaned.
Heather Eure says
Good stuff, Rick!
(Geez, Ed.)
Maureen says
Zoo Family
The crane gave a hoot and just fled;
Bao Bao to China was sped.
While the red fox escaped,
our gorillas just gaped,
and Redd in his bed played dead.
(Bao Bao, our panda, recently left the zoo for China. Redd is the National Zoo’s orangutan.)
Rick Maxson says
Very funny. You know how the song goes, “it’s all happening at the zoo”
Heather Eure says
So creative, Maureen.
Safe travels, Bao Bao.
Rick Maxson says
Thanks for posting my politerick, Heather.
Heather Eure says
You betcha.
Bethany R. says
Loved reading through all of these tonight. You all are a hoot!
Heather Eure says
Aren’t they fun?
Sandra Heska King says
Sister Mary the New York nun
Came to visit one time just for fun
Mom discovered too late
She’d made a mistake
And sauced my great aunt with some rum.
Heather Eure says
Party on, Sister Mary. Party on.
Sandra Heska King says
When his driving had gotten bizarre
Grandpa’s kids tossed his keys very far
So he hitched into town
Laid good money down
And simply came home with a new car.
Sandra Heska King says
Revising:
When his driving had gotten bizarre
Grandpa’s kids tossed his keys very far
So he hitched into town
Laid some good money down
And then simply brought home a new car.
Maureen says
Sandra,
You are a master at the form!
Sandra Heska King says
I love limericks. Thanks, Maureen. 🙂
Heather Eure says
Grandpa: 1
Kids: 0
Katie says
Love this! These have all been such fun. Thanks for sharing everyone:)
Monica Sharman says
Two sisters went by middle names,
both their first names being the same.
The one was Maria,
the other … Maria.
The dad claimed the mom was to blame.
Monica Sharman says
See that fam’ly antique photograph?
His debonair looks and his dash?
What a story they wrote, eh?
for “Lolo Bigote”—
translation: Grandfather Moustache.
Monica Sharman says
Oh, my goodness. Limericks can be so hard, especially when you’re trying to rhyme with the Spanish word “bigote.”
Heather Eure says
My Great Grandma Pearl from Saluda
Rarely ever did what she shoulda
After husband number three
Died mysteriously
She bought a ’74 Hemi ‘Cuda
Monica Sharman says
Who knows how many of these genealogy stories can be believed. But anyway, the story goes …
Descended from Both Sides of the Delaware Crossing
With George Washington one man arrived
‘cross the river. The Hessians: surprised.
One Hessian (who knew?)
was an ancestor too,
their descendants glad both men survived.
Katie says
Although he was somewhat odd
Even so, he had a great bod.
Yes, our great uncle Toddy,
we all could agree
Among fam’ly, had no peer as a clod.
Katie says
Aunt Kitty who lived in the city
Was thought to be quite witty.
She could make us all laugh
‘Till we cracked in half.
Then gaze at us with such pity.