It’s been 45 days of intense worry, concern and fear as I have navigated my way through this pandemic. Some days I am treading water in circles avoiding those tearful black holes of deep emotion. I need a break. I find myself zoning out. When I’m sitting idly, my eyes are drawn to the sky, the birds, the flowers, the trees. I can see the signs of burn out. Over and over again, day after day, I am deeply into meditation, deeply into writing, deeply into something. I want to dance. I want to laugh. I want to smile. I want to be lighter. I awoke this morning with a memory years ago when I was in the serious profession of court reporting. I was a computer-aided real transcriber of the spoken word in medical and legal malpractice lawsuits, depositions, drug and bomb trials. You name it, I heard it. For 25 years I held this high stress, high paced job. The National Court Reporters Association publishes a monthly journal providing first-hand accounts from other court reporters’ experiences on the job. Some spoke of their experience in the OJ trial. Others flew into unsafe areas and recorded testimony of terrorists. It was in this journal where I found the following reading. This piece is absurd and ridiculous, and yet it lightens me up, causes me to giggle and refreshes me to the core. I’ve never forgotten it, so I want to share it with you. It’s an exercise in spoonerism based on an old fairy tale.
By Colonel Stoopnagle (pseudonym of F. Chase Taylor)
Tonce upon a wime
there lived a gretty little pirl
named Prinderella.
She lived with her two sugly isters
and her micked wepstother
who made her
wean the clindows
pine the shots and shans
flub the scroors
and do all the other wirty dork.
Wasn’t that a shirty dame?
Then one day the Ping issued a kroclamation
that all geligible irls were invited to
a drancy fess ball.
Alas, poor Prinderella couldn’t go
because she didn’t have a drancy fess,
only a rirty dag that fidn’t dit.
Wasn’t THAT a shirty dame!
Then along came Prinderella’s gairy fodmother
who changed a cumpkin into a poach
some hice into morses
and Prinderella’s rirty dag
into a drancy fess!
But she warned Prinderella to come home
at the moke of stridnight.
So Prinderella went to the drancy fess ball
and pranced all night with a dince
until—oh no! the moke of stridnight!
Prinderella suddenly lad to heave,
In such a hig burry that
as she was running down the stalace peps
she slipped on the bottom pep and
slopped her dripper.
The next day, the Ping issued another kroclamation
that all gelligible irls were to sly on the tripper.
Prinderrella’s two sugly isters slied on the tripper,
but it fidn’t dit.
Then Prinderrella slied on the tripper
and it fid dit!
So…Prinderella married the Cince
and all was hell and wappy ever after.
That wasn’t such a shirty dame, was it!
PARTICIPANTS’ REFLECTIONS:
Sounded like foreign language, but I know the story and can figure it out
Darkest times of our lives help make us compassionate people
Wouldn't have developed this skill set if I didn't go through the darkness
The gibberish we are going through doesn't make sense, but a whole lot of good could come out of it
Today’s sharing of a fairy tale was perfect because I am being drawn to fairies right now. My favorite fairy tale as a child was about fairies delivering milk which turned into sunshine. I’m bringing that sunshine to my client
It’s been 45 days of this? Wow. I live day by day
Rumi quote is something like "The present moment is the only true time we have”
I’ve lived in my head all my life. I’m realizing I don't have to understand something to be happy. I like things orderly wrapped up. I'm dropping into my body. I've decided to walk under my pecan tree 12 times. I'm hugging a tree, taking a break from my head
Esse quam videri. "To be, rather than to seem." Saw this quote. Based on present. Authentic self.
The reading will have me smiling all day. Like some good news
I love the reading’s playfulness. It isn’t putting anyone down
I haven’t been excited about much, but with the wind and rain, earth is alive today
This isolation and uncertainty is wearing on people. We need these light moments for grounding