Archive for the ‘Odd Holidays’ Category

A Limerick for International Day Of Yoga (June 21)

Saturday, June 20th, 2015

The U.N. has decreed June 21 to be International Day Of Yoga … which gives me a handy excuse to post this silly limerick:

A gal doing yoga while dressed
In a toga, when questioned, confessed
That her garb did not work—
Turned her poses berserk.
So instead of relaxed, she was stressed.

Limerick-Off Monday – Rhyme Word: TRUST at the end of Line 1 or 2 or 5

Sunday, June 14th, 2015

It’s Limerick-Off time, once again. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same rhyme word. Then you post your limerick as a comment to this post and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too.

I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick using TRUST at the end of Line 1 or Line 2 or Line 5. (Homonyms or homophones are fine.)

The best submission will be crowned Limerick Of The Week. (Here’s last week’s Limerick Of The Week Winner.)

How will your poems be judged? By meter, rhyme, cleverness, and humor. (If you’re feeling a bit fuzzy about limerick writing rules, here’s my How To Write A Limerick article.)

I’ll announce the Limerick of the Week Winner next Sunday, right before I post next week’s Limerick-Off. So that gives you a full week to submit your clever, polished verse. Your submission deadline is Saturday at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time.)

Here’s my limerick:

A woman could no longer trust
Her domestic to vacuum or dust.
Yet she did come in handy;
When hubby was randy,
The maid took good care of his lust.

Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same rhyme word and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity on my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please email Madkane@MadKane.com Subject: MadKane’s Newsletter. Thanks!

UPDATE: June 8 is Vacuum Cleaner Day, in honor of Ives W. McGaffey’s June 8, 1869 U.S. patent for the suction vacuum cleaner.

A Spirited Weekend (Limerick)

Thursday, June 11th, 2015

A Spirited Weekend (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

This weekend, two drinks duke it out:
Gin and bourbon — which one has more clout?
Though “World Gin Day” comes first,
Save a bit of your thirst.
Next is bourbon … but no time for stout.

NOTE: World Gin Day is celebrated on the 2nd Saturday of June. National Bourbon Day, on the other hand, is always celebrated on June 14.

Never Tease Me With Teas (Limerick)

Wednesday, June 10th, 2015

Never Tease Me With Teas (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

I never drink hot or iced tea.
I just bag it as naught but debris,
Though it might pack a punch
Were it spiked, say with brunch.
But please leave out the tea-taste — that’s key!

NOTE: While studying up on today’s holiday, National Iced Tea Day, I was surprised to learn that tea in the U.S. was originally booze-laden.

Happy “National Donut Day” (1st Friday of June)

Thursday, June 4th, 2015

I swear I’m not making this headline up: “SI Swimsuit Models on National Donut Day.”

Makes sense, cuz after all when you think “donuts,” you think “swimsuit models.”

On the other hand, tomorrow (the first Friday in June) really is National Donut Day. So I figured I’d celebrate with a somewhat more apt stereotype:

“I am famished — need something to eat,”
Said a cop who was walking the beat.
“My last donut was noon.
I need sustenance soon.
Make it something that’s sugar-replete.”

Holiday Tip (Limerick)

Thursday, May 21st, 2015

Holiday Tip (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

I’m presenting a holiday tip.
No it’s not what you think. Get a grip!
It is Waitstaff Day. See?
And I’m sure you’ll agree
That those folks deserve more than this quip.

(National Waitstaff Day — May 21)

Not Panting To Wear Jeans (Limerick)

Wednesday, May 20th, 2015

I find jeans to be patently uncomfortable. But I’m dutifully celebrating the birthday of its patent — granted to Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis on May 20th, 1873:

Call them denims or jeans — I don’t care–
That’s one garment I simply won’t wear.
I don’t buy the appeal
Of its look or its feel,
And I’d rather go naked. Don’t stare!

*****

National Blue Jeans Day falls on December 5th.

Happy Limerick Day (and Edward Lear’s Birthday) (May 12)

Tuesday, May 12th, 2015

My lim’rick obsession’s severe;
I write rhymes night and day ev’ry year.
My addiction is brutal.
Resistance is futile…
And I warrant the fault lies with Lear.

Happy birthday, Edward Lear, and Happy Limerick Day!

Limerick Ode to National Beverage Day (May 6)

Wednesday, May 6th, 2015

Limerick Ode to National Beverage Day (May 6)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

It’s National Beverage Day
The vaguest of days, you might say,
Cuz your options are fluid;
Each bev’rage will do it.
Drink anything — scotch the bouquet.

Happy World Naked Gardening Day (1st Saturday of May)

Friday, May 1st, 2015

Happy World Naked Gardening Day (1st Saturday of May)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Naked Gardening Day is tomorrow.
As I write this, I shudder with sorrow.
So I strongly advise:
Stay indoors, avert eyes…
Or give gard’ners some clothes they can borrow.

Limerick Ode to the Zipper (National Zipper Day: April 29)

Wednesday, April 29th, 2015

Limerick Ode to the Zipper (Zipper Day: April 29)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

I’ll bet Gideon Sundback felt chipper
When designing the modern-day zipper–
An invention surpassin’
The old ways to fasten…
And a slick trick to hook a big tipper.

Happy “Stress Awareness Day!” (April 16)

Thursday, April 16th, 2015

I’m sensing the usual stress–
Nothing more, but alas, nothing less.
“Stress Awareness Day’s” here–
Not a day that I’d cheer.
Screw “awareness!” I’d rather repress.

Kick Butts Day Limerick

Wednesday, March 18th, 2015

Today, March 18, is Kick Butts Day.

Kick Butts Day Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Today is the day to kick butts.
No ifs, ands, or buts — smoking’s nuts!
For the cig rut’s a yoke
That can kill you — no joke!
So though quitting’s a drag, show some guts.

Word Hoarder (Limerick)

Tuesday, January 20th, 2015

Word Hoarder (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

With words, I am rather a hoarder.
My brain is a language importer.
Is it all for the birds?
How I long for my words
To arise in a risible order.

UPDATE: I just found out that January 9th was National Word Nerd Day.

Limerick Ode To Pyro-Gourmaniacs

Thursday, January 15th, 2015

Attention Pyro-Gourmaniacs! Are you all ready for Hot And Spicy Food Day? (January 16)

Limerick Ode To Pyro-Gourmaniacs
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Since my taste favors flavors that hurt,
“It’s not spicy enough,” I’ll assert,
As I dive for the water,
Which worsens the slaughter;
Can’t save taste buds for sav’ry dessert.

Limerick Ode To “Clean Off Your Desk Day”

Monday, January 12th, 2015

Limerick Ode To “Clean Off Your Desk Day.”
By Madeleine Begun Kane

It’s “Clean Off Your Desk Day” today.
I examine my mess with dismay.
What a foolscap-prediction–
That “paperless” fiction.
Laptops save us? The trees all say, “Nay!”

(The second Monday of January is “National Clean Off Your Desk Day.”)

View my Clean Desk Limerick image here.

Verse for the Birds (Limerick and Quatrain)

Monday, January 5th, 2015

Happy “National Bird Day!”

A birder who’d frequently swear
His toupée was in fact his real hair,
Was caught by a gust,
And his toupe, not just mussed,
Flew the coop, leaving pate rather bare.

*****

“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” —
People tell me that all of the time.
Such axioms give me a pain in the tush.
Were I queen, I would make them a crime.

Happy National Trivia Day (January 4)

Saturday, January 3rd, 2015

Limerick Ode To National Trivia Day
By Madeleine Begun Kane

I will not even bother to cram
For Trivia Day — what a jam!
It’s tomorrow — I’m late!
A few hours ain’t great
For a mind that’s alas on the lam.

Limerick Ode to the Horse

Saturday, December 13th, 2014

Happy “National Day of the Horse.”

Till I’m hoarse, I of course shall endorse
The “National Day of the Horse.”
On the racecourse or farm
Or police force, what charm!
(It had better not be your main course.)

Limerick Ode To Bartender Appreciation Day

Friday, December 5th, 2014

Happy Bartender Appreciation Day! (first Friday of December)

Limerick Ode To Bartender Appreciation Day
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A fellow walked into a bar
And ordered a “smoked cable car.”
“Outta rum,” barkeep said.
“How’s a sidecar instead?”
It was close but, alas, no cigar.

*****

When you are ailing,
a bartender’s frequently
a stout companion.

******

UPDATE: February 24 is World Bartender Day.