Friday, January 17, 2014

Loo loo, skip to the loo....

It has been one of those roller coaster weeks that make absolutely no sense. Yesterday, I felt the need to ponder on the complexity of the human mind that can delve so deeply into non-existent problems that it can crush the soul with the weight of the world.  Today, I woke up to wonder on the meaning of a nursery rhyme that defies all logic.

Loo loo, skip to the loo
Loo loo, skip to the loo
Loo loo, skip to the loo
Skip to the loo, my darling

Why, oh why would anyone skip to the loo in the first place?  Skipping, in my mind, constitutes an act of youthful energy that expresses sheer happiness.  A child may skip to the park after school to play with friends or to a Carnival anticipating cotton candy and Ferris wheel rides.  What, my feverish mind wonders today, would prompt a child to bounce and skip to the loo?  If you ever catch a child doing that, be sure to take the Mom aside to talk about the importance of fiber in her family's diet.

Fly's in the buttermilk, shoo fly shoo
Fly's in the buttermilk shoo fly shoo
Fly's in the buttermilk, shoo fly shoo
Skip to the loo, my darling

Hmmmm.......I am not quite sure how to interpret this really.   If my kid finds a fly in her cup of buttermilk I will probably tell her to remove it and drink it up or dump the glass and pour another one but that is just me.  There is a Mother somewhere out there that advises her child to happily (otherwise why skip?) take refuge in the loo to tackle this problem?  Running away never solves any problem, doesn't she know? You can hide in the loo for as long as you want, but when you get out, the fly is still there floating belly up, right?  Like I said, the entire thing defies logic.

Lost my partner, what'll I do
Lost my partner, what'll I do
Lost my partner, what'll I do
Skip to the loo, my darling

That is tragic, I agree. Losing a partner can be crippling, I am given to understand. And the loss may induce gastrointestinal turbulence for sure but we are not talking about grown ups, are we?  What kind of a partner skipped out on the child - spelling bee partner?,  crayon bee partner?  or  ballet dance partner?  Explain to me how skipping to the loo helps them deal with this loss.

Come on folks, lets get serious here.  Do we really want to condone defeatism so blatantly?  Should our children grow up believing that running and hiding is the answer to all the problems facing this world?  Imagine that one of these kids gets elected as President of the United States in the future.  And there he is sitting in on a routine meeting with his senior staff in the Oval office at 7 AM one morning only to be interrupted by the Defense Secretary bearing news that North Korea is threatening to fire its nuclear weapons just for the heck of it.   Are we going to sit back and watch our President skip to the Loo on TV?   What if he decides to stay there until the crisis passes humanity?  You may think it is just a catchy rhyme now but heed my warning.  This could have serious ramifications to the future of this world.

Oh but hold it!  Before you jump off the cliff in to an abyss of despair, catch this last verse.  It might just bring salvation for the poet of this verse after all.

I'll get another one just like you
I'll get another one just like you
I'll get another one just like you
Skip to the loo, my darling

Now, that's the spirit!  'Life goes on so embrace the challenges with a happy face' is what it says and what a great lesson for all.  Learning that no one is indispensable can be an invaluable lesson in humility.  I believe that teaching our kids that when you step off the train, someone always boards to take your place is as important a lesson as Algebra and Trigonometry.

On that philosophical note, I thank you for reading this post which barely skirts the edges of sanity to the end and will suggest that you always take my words with a pinch of salt. :-)

Now all I have to do is learn to skip without pulling a muscle.  Skip to the loo, my friends and you shall find answers to all your problems in there.  Good luck and a belated Happy New Year to all!