Thursday, April 23, 2009

Happy feet?


Today’s post (the content, not the title) was suggested by Mrs. Rhymeswithplague.

Our neighbor, Rube (which is his real name and not short for Reuben or anything else), is 80 years old and often sends us interesting and entertaining e-mails. Yesterday he decided that the perfect thing to distribute on a spring afternoon was this clip from The Seven Little Foys.

As Jack Haley, Jr., son of Jack Haley, Sr., once said, “That’s entertainment!”

Both Bob Hope and James Cagney started out as song-and-dance men, I believe, so it was fitting that they played the roles of Eddie Foy and George M. Cohan, respectively, in The Seven Little Foys. I know very little about dancing, but Cagney seems to be the better dancer in this clip. At least, his arms are not flailing about like Bob Hope’s. Or maybe they just have different styles and their duet is brilliant. What do I know? But that’s not why Mrs. RWP suggested this post.

Here’s why.

One of my mother’s favorite sayings, one I heard her say many times because I had a tendency to lean against the kitchen table, was, “If you sit on the table, you’ll get married before you’re able.” Naturally, I said it to my three children, and now I am saying it to my six grandchildren. Old habits die hard. The apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. Or something. Pick your own proverb and insert it here.

What Mrs. RWP wanted to know after viewing the Cagney and Lacey Hope video was: If you sit on the table and get married before you’re able, what happens if you dance on the table?

The only answer I have been able to come up with is that the lampshade may fall off your head.

Do you have other suggestions? Help me out, readers. Do your stuff.

While you are trying to think of a clever answer, concentrate on this photo:

8 comments:

  1. Dance on the table live life like a fable.
    Everybody knows that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bravo! Thanks for the fun. I was thinking Bob Hope appeared more loosely-jointed of two as they danced, but it may have been an optical illusion due to the contrasting color of their suits. Whew...

    Possibly if you dance on the table, you may end up on YouTube and then on rhymsie's blog....so BE CAREFUL!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the clip. I had forgotten what a good "hoofer" Bob Hope was. He held his own with Cagney, I thought.

    Dance on the table if the floor's not available -- but dance!

    ReplyDelete
  4. ...you'll marry Betty Grable? But she only wants to marry a millionaire...

    I have that movie, (Seven Little Foys) haven't watched it in a while. If you really want to see Cagney dance, watch Yankee Doodle Dandy! He's George M. Cohan in that too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. If you're dancing on the table, you're probably too drunk to care what happens next....

    ReplyDelete
  6. I wouldn't know anything about dancing...I'm a good Southern Baptist!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, that was fun. I haven't seen the Seven Little Foys since I was one of the five little Hulls.

    I find your mother's saying about sitting on the table very intriguing. I'm trying to figure out some logic to it, but failing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love the comments!

    Dr. John - It sounds right, but I think you made it up.

    Jeannelle - Truer words were never spoken!

    Pat - Arkansas - How about on the ceiling? In the streets?

    Rosezilla (Tracie) - I like your Betty Grable comment!

    jinksy (Penny) - I think you're right. That's what prompted my answer about the lampshade.

    Angela - Where did we go wrong?

    Ruth - I don't think it was meant to be logical, it was just supposed to remind a teen-ager not to sit on the table! But it does rhyme nicely, doesn't it?

    ReplyDelete

<b>My new favorite poem</b>

...is the following one, purportedly by Billy Collins: Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House The neighbors'...