Transcription
Irene
FLASH BULLETIN! EXTRA! EXTRA! HOLD THE PRESSES FOR A SPECIAL EDITION!
7-24-77.
Dear Family,-
BIG SURPRISE! With Bill and Judy both here (including Jeannie and John), Annie drove all the way up from Akron to complete the family circle for a special SURPRISE - a second celebration for my 85th birthday. When I walked into the dining room with Bill, Jeanne, Judy, John and Clara there, it was for just another family supper - no inkling of a coming surprise - and then Annie came in from where she had been hiding, and while I was embracing her and exclaiming and holding back the tears, they all were singing “Happy Birthday To You.” I was overjoyed!
With Annie as the surprise guest after her long drive to be present, the family conversations during the meal were especially lively, and then at the end - coffee time - Bill arose, stating that he had been appointed the Master of Ceremonies, and after some opening remarks, called upon Annie. With some explanatory remarks about “Miniver Cheevey” by E.A. Robinson, she arose and read her parody on “Miniver Cheevey,” which made a big hit with all of us. Next Bill explained that his son Bill had composed the music and the words for a special birthday song for me, and that Heavensworth had made a recording for me, which he played for all of us on his battery operated recorder. It was SUPER! I asked Bill to give me the words to his music, which he tried to do, but in a number of places he had to guess what the meaning was, so it was decided I should not type up an incomplete version of their birthday song. But attached are the poems contributed by Annie, Bill, John and Judy. Bill’s poem made a special hit with me because he used my favorite meter which was Franklin P. Adam’s favorite meter back in my school days at Lawrenceville and Princeton, when F.P.A. ran the Conning Tower in the N.Y. Tribune. John made a big hit with all of us with the “sheepish” way he read his poem that did not rhyme. Bill saved Judy for the last, to be the climax. After she had read her poem, she carried in from the kitchen a big cardboard box, balancing it very carefully. Placing it on the table before me, she told me to look down into the box (the top was open), and then by a clever manipulation she gradually turned up the wick of the lamp inside and I saw the special lamp shade she had made for me “come to life.” In keeping with her poem and my honeymoon here with my Perfect Mate, she had inscribed around the rim of the shade a dedication to my Perfect Mate and me dated as of our honeymoon in 1923. Jeannie, following the Heavensworth song contribution, presented me with a cushion just the right size for my “slip-disc” back. It must have taken her a month or two to cover that cushion with a special design of her own making, beautifully and painstakenly [sic] done.
Now read the attached poems and enjoy my 85th SURPRISE birthday party via the F.L.
Yours for the Family Reunions, Family Traditions, and close Family Ties thru our F. Letters,
BillTranscriber
Cindi RokeLanguage
EnglishNotes
aTranscription
“WILLARD SEIBERLING”
a parody on “Miniver Cheevey” by E.A.Robinson [sic]
Willard Seiberling, child well born,
Was happy with each passing season.
He blessed the day that he was born
And he had reason.
Willard loved the days of old
When Princeton P-rades set him prancing -
Visions of the Tiger bold
Set his heart dancing.
Willard found his nitch [sic] in sales:
He loved that classy demonstration
In which he drove on tracks of nails
Across the nation.
Something else that he did love
Was crewing in Van Orman’s races -
That thrill of soaring high above
Exotic places.
He loved the planning of his trips -
His joy was in anticipation.
Once there, the German beer he sips
With sheer elation.
Willard Seiberling, man of dreams,
Is known for super large-scale thinking.
His Cove Point plans have seen extremes
In boulder sinking.
So let us drink to this great man
Whose genius lies in pos’tive thinking.
Let’s lift our glasses, if we can,
And keep on drinking.
Annie
TO DAD – ON HIS 85th
From Old Numero Uno
At eighty-five we all can see
Remarkable longevity.
No slowing down -
He takes the crown
For zest.
He sets the pace when others lag.
He always has a joke, a gag.
In chess a tease.
At puzzles he’s
The best.
What magic pill does this man take?
Or is it water from the lake
That gives him drive -
Keeps him alive
And well.
You guessed, it is Cove Point, forsooth:
That long-sought, prized fountain of youth
Where some fine day
We all will play
And dwell.
He sets his sights, he takes a bead.
He does not stray, he will succeed.
With blinders on,
The marathon
Begins.
He plans his work; he works his plan -
A mighty task for any man.
When problems loom
They are not doom -
He wins.
In spite of all his worldly wealth,
His greatest treasure is his health.
His “amber pale”
Will never fail
His sleep.
Of all the deposits to the dime,
His biggest bank account is time.
Insured for theft
There’s plenty left
To keep.
Bill
TO FATHER SEI
In 1947,
Just thirty years ago,
We gathered in this very room
To look each other over.
In 1957
The room was dark and empty,
But we were growing steadily
With Father brewing plans.
In 1967,
Just ten years after that,
We six were once again right here,
Increased to seventeen.
Now 1977,
On this important date,
The grand father of all this joy
We’ve come to celebrate.
To DAD
In all Dad’s famous house-parties
No twosing was allowed.
They played croquet and strummed their ukes,
But always with the crowd.
While picnicking in woods or beach
These couples all were hounded
With chaperones until the strains
Of “Good Night Ladies’ sounded.
But Ab and Harriet perched upon
A rock at water’s edge
Just out of earshot long enough
For them to make their pledge.
And romance bloomed for other pals
And Daddy tried his best,
But all the girls that he had brought
Couldn’t pass the acid test.
But when he met his Perfect Mate
He wooed and won, and soon
She came, not for a house-party,
But for a honeymoon.
Happy 85th Birthday and lots of love,
JudyTranscriber
Cindi RokeLanguage
EnglishNotes
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