Timothy Power's Blog, page 41

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In an earlier post I wrote about my distant relative, American songwriter Cornelius Power, and his fierce, artistic rivalry with his BFF, composer James Lord Pierpont, author of the immortal classic "Jingle Bells."
Cornelius's sleigh-ride song, "Horsey Snow Ride," is not as well-known. The sheet music has been lost in the sands of time, sadly, but the lyrics can be sung to the tune of "America the Beautiful." Whether or not it's snowing outside, it makes a rousing holiday number. Let's all sing along!
HORSEY SNOW RIDE by Cornelius Power (1821-1915)
Let's take a sleigh ride on the snow
And travel to and fro
While snowflakes pile on our heads
As we cry, "Here we go!"
Oh horsey ride, oh horsey ride,
You are so fast and fun!
You make us glad that winter's here.
God bless us, every one!

This is the time of year when a TON of holiday songs come pouring out of me. What can I say? I'm musical! So what if I can't remember any of the words to these holiday hits? All I need to remember is "deetle-deet-deet." Here I am, deetling up a storm.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOrkI66d5fU

Why does the start of December remind me of a bunch of dancing bears? I don't know. It just does! This wonderful painting is "The Bear Dance" by American artist William Holbrook Beard (1824-1900).

Can a turkey jump higher than the Empire State Building?
Yes! Buildings can't jump at all.

Thanksgiving is almost here. And so is that bloated feeling from eating WAY too much. When all you want to do is flop on the couch and watch TV, consider this handy way of creating some fun entertainment with a minimum of effort. All you need is a bright light, a pair of hands, and a wall to create these fascinating shadow animals.

Now that you've practiced, it's time to create the STAR OF THE SHOW … Tom Turkey!

Who went trick-or-treating as a '70s basketball player this Halloween? I DID. I hope everyone had a howling good time!

George from Portland, OR writes:
Dear T,
Everyone has gotten a good scare with my Halloween stories The Evil Lightbulb and Organic Blood Orange. Well, this year's story is even more frightening. It's about a toothbrush that comes to life on Halloween night with a sinister mission—to keep brushing and brushing and brushing. It doesn't stop brushing until it's brushed your head right off. Ha ha! What do you think of that?

P.S. Since I charged ten dollars for last year's story, my mom made me give this one away for free. All the copies are already gone.
T replies:
What can I say, George? You've done it again. Another ordinary household item is now scaring me out of my wits, thanks to your lurid imagination. Needless to say I will NOT be brushing my teeth this Halloween night. I'll just have to brush TWICE the next morning.

When it gets to be Halloween time I start to think of things that scare me SO MUCH I feel like this:

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This year, what is scaring me UP a tree IS a tree. Specifically, A SCARY TREE. Here are some prime examples:

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I'm sure if you keep your eyes peeled, you can find a scary tree IN YOUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD!
For a look at 30 more creepy, bizarre woody, perennial plants, visit this site … IF YOU DARE!