Amy's Place .. Poetry and Potpourri .. Mar.31 - Apr. 1, 2004

3-31-04 | JustAmy, St.Louie1 and Mama_Bear

[OESY]

The Fool's Prayer
Edward Rowland Sill

The royal feast was done; the King
Sought some new sport to banish care,
And to his jester cried: "Sir Fool,
Kneel now, and make for us a prayer!"

The jester doffed his cap and bells,
And stood the mocking court before;
They could not see the bitter smile
Behind the painted grin he wore.

He bowed his head, and bent his knee
Upon the monarch's silken stool;
His pleading voice arose: "O Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!

"No pity, Lord, could change the heart
From red with wrong to white as wool;
The rod must heal the sin; but Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!

" 'Tis not by guilt the onward sweep
Of truth and right, O Lord, we stay;
'Tis by our follies that so long
We hold the earth from heaven away.

"These clumsy feet, still in the mire,
Go crushing blossoms without end;
These hard, well-meaning hands we thrust
Among the heart-strings of a friend.

"The ill-timed truth we might have kept —
Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung?
The word we had not sense to say —
Who knows how grandly it had rung?

"Our faults no tenderness should ask,
The chastening stripes must cleanse them all;
But for our blunders-oh, in shame
Before the eyes of heaven we fall.

"Earth bears no balsam for mistakes;
Men crown the knave, and scourge the tool
That did his will; but Thou, O Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!"

The room was hushed; in silence rose
The King, and sought his gardens cool,
And walked apart, and murmured low,
"Be merciful to me, a fool!"

[MeekOneGOP]

JustFrank could not resist playing a little April Fool joke on everyone today. :)

Since he has been behaving himself, I let him use the computer.

Oh, I see ! I'm glad Just Frank gets a good report today !
And a good April Fool's joke it was too ! haha ! Can you
make sure he sees THIS one ? It's for Frank and everyone
here today !:

Click here or on the above.
You have WON !

My gosh ! Isn't that flashing obnoxious ?!?! haha !

[PreviouslyA-Lurker]

Cool OESY! Thank you for the education!

[PreviouslyA-Lurker]

Psssssst, your secret is now out.

[OESY]

Sad to announce: Our Prank Challenge Cup competition is not going too well.
So, here's a recap of some past April Fool's exploits.

In 1986 disc jockeys in Providence, Rhode Island announced the city was shutting down for the day. The "Providence Labor Action Relations Board Committee" was blamed for the decision with the radio station advising listeners to go home. Those seeking further information about the closure were directed to the telephone number of the station's cross-town rival. That unsuspecting victim received hundreds of calls from folks wanting to know what was going on, and the police in that city were, according to one dispatcher, likewise "swamped" by folks calling in.

In 1987, residents of a town in Illinois were advised to all flush their toilets at a predetermined time to force a 10-foot alligator from the town's sewer.

Also in 1987 residents of another town in Illinois were worried about a new "sin" tax their city was instituting. According to the plan, townspeople would have to call a special number once every two months to be taken through a questionnaire by a city employee who would first hook up the phone to a device that determined whether callers were answering truthfully. Answers that indicated residents had been engaging in various forms of sin would prompt the levying of a bi-monthly tax against them, the amount depending on what they'd been up to and how often.

In 1999 a bank in Connecticut angered its customers through a prank it ran in the local paper as an announcement of a new fee. According to the ad, those of its patrons wishing to speak with one of its tellers would be charged $5 a visit. Though many got the joke (it was meant as a jab at the financial institutions that actually follow this practice), some didn't, resulting in customers threatening to close all their accounts. The bank ran the ad the next day, that time clearly marked as a joke.

In 1989 two police officers in Utah were suspended without pay for a couple of days for their April Fools' Day prank of placing invisible dye (used by police to catch criminals and normally put on money) in restrooms in the city-county building and the mayor's office. The colorless powder dye turns a dark purple when it comes into contact with skin — it's harmless but takes a while to wear off, as the mayor found out when it turned him into a "marked man."

-- Barbara "the jokers are wild" Mikkelson

Fast-forward to April 1, 2004: Here's another headline from today's Washington Post: "Most Say They Are Less Safe Since 9/11." The paper is reporting on a poll conducted by the Council for Excellence in Government.

The Post's headline is false. The council's poll, conducted by the Hart-Teeter firm, asked, "Do you think that as a country we are more safe, about as safe, or less safe than we were before Sept. 11, 2001?" Results: 47% said "more safe," 34% said "about as safe," and only 18%--32% short of "most"--said "less safe."

Come to think of it, maybe the Post, in the tradition of college newspapers everywhere, decided to publish an April Fool's edition.

-- James Taranto, Best of the Web Today

[Darksheare]

Something written for a FReepmail evening greeting/parting off the top of my head

An evening's parting word:

Moonlight upon the paths you tread
And starlight your ship may guide
Fair winds to shift the morning dew
And as the sun does rise, the day renew.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hi everybody.

You'll never find another love like mine…

click on it.

[Alberta's Child]

Hey, a kissing booth.

Hope I'm first on line!

And second, and third, etc., . . . LOL.

[JustAmy]

I didn't hear very much of Hannity today. I usually listen when in the car but the errands I ran today were near so I spent very little time listening to the radio.

Thanks for the heads up tho, I will listen to the local guy at 6:00. He is kinda goofy but conservative.

[hookman]

Actually it's flying right next door in my Grandmas front yard. I used a basic Kodak digital camera, and waited for the wind to catch just right. We had a nice spring day on the 29th so I felt like taking some pictures.

Thank you I'm glad you like it.

And thank you Amy for helping me out, that is a beautiful poem!

[hookman]

What do you think pop?

[JustAmy]

Thank you for sharing that, OESY!

"The Fools Prayer" is a wonderful poem for April 1st.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hope I'm first on line!

April fool's! LOL.

[JustAmy]

LOL

We just do not get into the joke thing here, do we?

Wheww ..... boy am I happy about that!

Thanks for posting those.

[hookman]

Happy April Fools Day

The first of April, some do say,
Is set apart for All Fools' Day.
But why the people call it so,
Nor I, nor they themselves do know.
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment.

-- Poor Robin's Almanac (1790)

[Alberta's Child]

Damn. I should have known it was too good to be true . . . LOL.

[JustAmy]

Thank you, Darks!!

That is wonderful!
I've saved it, hope that is okay with you.

[JustAmy]

That is a beautiful selection by Lou Rawls.

Thank you, Victoria.

[JustAmy]

You are welcome but .... thank you for sending it to me to be used with a poem.

Beautiful photo and a wonderful poem.

Thank you again.

Hope you had a terrific day!!

[Victoria Delsoul]

You're welcome... you ain't seen nothing yet.