Saturday, March 19, 2005

Happy Spring!

Jumpin' Jehosephat on a pogo stick! The mysterious Burrowaugh has surfaced from his subterranian den and seen his own shadow. It's the first day of Spring!! Amazing! To quote the morose master of Canadian letters:

"The little lambs are leaping through the Easter hoop so the insomniac can get to sleep but he's caught without his knife and fork because it's probably Spring. It's probably Spring. You can give away your money for an hour. You can resume your childhood plan. You're naked and the snake is hungry but the viscious thing won't sting becasue it's probably Spring."

Ah Leonard! People say your latest work is too happy, but I'm glad you found some contentment up there in the Zen monastary. I love the song that goes,

"By the waters dark I staggered on
I gave myself to Babylon."

or

"You loose your grip
and then you slip
into the masterpiece"

Both quotes are from his second last, allegedly happier, album (thanks to Dr. F for that Christmas gift). Wherever you are today Leonard, playing Spanish guitar to the sparrows, or sipping wine in some dark lady's chambers, I hope it is spring for you too. Burrowaugh! Burrowaugh!

2 comments:

flatlander said...

I'm glad you asked about burrowaughs (pronounced bur-o-augh). I can only offer the following excerpt from my twisted youth by way of explanation:

"Do you remember Johnny Warshman, the kid used to deliver papers in the neighbourhood? Some of the neighbours say he smokes crack, but I don't believe them. Anyway, for his twelfth birthday all he wanted was a burrowaugh. He said, "Dad, get me a burrowaugh and I'll never ask for anything else as long as I live. So the guy breaks down and buys him a burrowaugh. Now, just the other day I was out in my yard and I look over and see the Warshman kid looking up at a tree. I say, "What are you looking at?" He says, "I'm looking for my Burrowaugh." I say, "JUMPING JESUS ON A POGO STICK!! EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT A BURROWAUGH LIVES IN A HOLE IN THE GROUND! -WHY DO YOU THINK THEY CALL IT A 'BURROWAUGH' ANYWAYS ?!!!"

From, "Stuart" by the Dead Milkmen

As for Leonard, we're talking Cohen.

flatlander said...

That makes complete sense! If it were a burrow OWL then that would explain why the kid was looking up in the tree for it. Here in Canada, we've been conducting some genetic experiments, and have produced a creature that is a cross between William Burroughs and Evelyn Waugh. It's like a small beaver and lives in muddy holes, writing about a Europe it has never visited and shooting H. I just assumed that it was this creature that the Milkmen were refering to.


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