Getting Older

One of the trials of turning fifty is that your friends want to throw you fancy parties.

(This is not happening to me, btw, though my time's coming, I'm sure.)

Anyway, a hallmark of these sorts of parties, aside from the booze and the rich food and the traditional appearance of Bubbles the Clown and his Trick Pony Troupe, is the festivity known as the Funny Song Dedicated to the Guest of Honour.

This time around, the GoH is named Sue, which small, water-logged, children could rhyme easily enough. I suggested several tunes, among them A Boy Named Sue and A Dog Named Blue, both of which were shot down handily without Nola even having to get off the phone. So, wanting to be helpful and contribute my share, I, on the spur of the moment pitched a theme based on Sue's long involvement with the local canoe club: "Paddling Sue!" To the tune of Oklahoma!, perhaps.

Nola failed to see the ripe possibilities such a whizbang theme offers, and covering her free ear with her hand, turned her head so as to give her full attention to the grownup on the phone. I half-heard her mumblings ("... garden ... country ... birds ...") and sang "Oh, Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuue / She's a good gal, too" to myself, quietly, well, pretty quietly, until Nola got off the phone and announced that the super smashing box office hit tune they'd settled on using was An English Country Garden.

This party's gonna need more booze.