Dear readers, I have consulted the calendar and determined a temporal climacteric is at hand. In the words of the Immortal Bard --which I quote from memory-- the character of Crab in Two Gentlemen Of Verona exclaims: "I have studied Time and of needs maintain,
A bygone year now circleth round the drain."
Crab is one of two dogs in the Shakespearean canon, and is still a welcome stage presence. Unfortunately, in Shakespeare's time --as it is now-- there were serious problems finding dogs who could bark in iambic pentameter.
Of course there were other dog-references, like in Julius Caesar: "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!" But they were references only and no dogs were harmed in these productions. Crab, on the other hand was a real dog-actor and reported what he had divined from reading the enigmatic vortex of his favorite drinking bowl. So passes a year, in winter.
You may notice from today's Normaphotos that winter morning has, upon my hair and backporch roof, a similar influence:
So, as the year circles to closure, and because I can't think of much to write about just now, I will close this post with an enigma, which I invite any and all to solve. I still buy newspapers --mainly for the puzzles and funnies-- but have noticed something since childhood that amazed me. Big deals are covered on Page One. "Headlines" is a word that will long outlast the newspaper in this electronic age, but answer me this: why is the last page of every newspaper section an even numbered one?
Oh, that's too easy. Tell me this: why did Abraham Lincoln, a decided eccentric, never doff his hat or stand for the "Star Spangled Banner"? It is, after all, our national anthem.
Looking forward to replies, and new enigmas in the coming year!