Bobby...you know...THAT Bobby...Bobby Burns. Whaat? You don't know who Bobby Burns is? "Wee slickit tim'rous beastie..."? Yes, the Scottish poet Bobby Burns. It's his birthday, and they are having a "gathering" here in Mt Rainier to which i was invited and then disinvited. I was invited at 5:30 to a gathering that starts at 6:30. "We'll pick you up!" etc. At 7:05, I get a message: "The gathering is not at the house where we thought. It's at another house, and this one has a CAT!!! So sorry...."
At 5:30, I also was told to "bring a pie, though that's not necessary." (NOT NECESSARY?!) Sorry...not even I can make a frickin pie in an hour! It would take me 45 minutes to get to the frozen food section in Giant and back, and then I'd have to bake the daggone thing. Besides, on Burns Day, you need to make neeps & tatties!!! That would have been fun, had I had an afternoon in which to plot and peel and boil and mash and bake within a pie crust.
As it is, here I am alone with a glass of Jack Daniels. I am fresh out of The Famous Grouse, mother's milk of Scotland.
Well, happy birthday, Bobby...or Robbie, or Rabbie. You served your time well. And you wrote good poems, too, though I blush to admit I only know that one line (quoted above).
I give up. I am totally unfit for social life. I accept my fate. Ta hell with all of it.
I understand. Neither am I.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to pop a top in dear Bobby's memory since I'm out of scotch. And yeah, I know that's a sin for a daughter of Scotland!!!
You know what they say: the best laid plans for a Bobby Burns party gang aft agley.
ReplyDeleteName dropping: My late older son's godfather is a direct descendant of Burns, and his family has a tradition of not ever letting the male offspring forget it. He's got the biggest Roman numeral after his name of anyone I've ever met or probably ever will: he's Robert Burns Begg IX.
kay: i'm sure mr. burns was not a stranger to popped tops. here's t' ye, rabbie!
ReplyDeletesherwood: where did i read or hear about some pilot that buzzed his friend's farmstead and dropped a bag of flour? kapouff! impressive!! i can see now that the blog world needs the SHERWOOD HARRINGTON BAG-O'-FLOUR AWARD FOR SHOWMANSHIP IN NAME DROPPING. i don't think my family has ever had so much as a III.
Surely you know
ReplyDeleteAuld Lang Syne too?
And perhaps even
Scots Wha Hae,
which served as a national anthem until we got Flower Of Scotland :-)
aye....Auld Lang Syne
ReplyDeletenae....Scots Wha Hae
and i do know that old classic "ye cannae shove yer granny aff the bus"
i forget you are a scot. which part of scotland are you from?
We had (veggie) haggis, neeps and tatties last night for our tea. We didn't drag out the Burns as the only one who could give it an authentic accent is our own wee George and he just won't. Photos may be coming later.
ReplyDeleteholy mother....what could possibly be in veggie haggis? oats and potato peelings?
ReplyDeleteThey are really lovely actually. Grains, beans, spices. We've enjoyed them for years. Why should vegetarians lose out on Burns night?
ReplyDeleteAwww...I missed it. Maybe next year?
ReplyDeleteCop Car
cop: we need an early warning system for local-ish holidays. i have enough trouble keeping up with christmas and the like. now they're springing offshore festivals on us....
ReplyDelete