Thursday, October 17, 2013
How I Knew I Loved Language
Each week during my childhood "Dr. IQ, the Mental Banker" came on the radio asking questions of live audience members, giving them money for correct answers.
My favorite question was always "that little monument to memory, the Thought Twister." If you could repeat Dr. IQ's rhyme exactly, you'd get 25 silver dollars. He'd say it only once. For example:
The bed is red said Ted to Ned.
The bed is red, Ted, to him said Ned.
Almost everybody failed and ended up with a box of Milky Ways instead. I caught onto the pattern and could always repeat the rhyme.
All four principal rhyming words appeared twice in the same order. And punctuated properly, it would make sense: "The bed is red," said Ted to Ned. "The bed is red, Ted," to him said Ned.
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ReplyDeletethe moment I knew I loved language for the moment my daddy would read my a bed time story, in his first irish brogue. don, even though you are not on the brogue manner, I, too, enjoy hearing your voice as you read e.e. Cummings' poem on the arrival of spring some years ago.
ReplyDeletetyping in cold...allows me an ability to correct a typo. read "my" to read "me"
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