Saturday redux .. or he mounts the soapbox again

I have been reading a printout of a collection of haiku that the lovely Sheryl of Minnesota sent me a while back. She did not say where she downloaded it from, but they are desert themed ... like my stuff. I would like to know from whence they originated, I'll have to write her and ask her.

I gather after re-reading them, that people ... students perhaps??... were shown a picture, or pictures, of Saguaros in the desert and then tasked with writing a haiku about it. I say this because although they are images of cacti and the desert, but without any affection that people who live in the desert would have for the scene. The problem I have with most of them, besides the spelling.. which is horrible at times which leads me to believe the authors are students, is that a lot of them do not conform to any of the haiku styles. They are not 5-7-5. They will be 5-6-5, or 5-7-6 or 5-7-5-1 or 7-5-8 or whatever. That is not haiku. One of the reasons that haiku attracts people is because of the inate rhythm that it possesses. I believe that the authors are young people for several reasons, but one GLARING error that always grates on my nerves. YOUR DOES NOT MEAN YOU'RE !!! When I see signs that say YOUR INVITED, or something similar, it is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. YOUR means belonging to you and YOU'RE is you are.Why is that so damn difficult for the populace to comprehend? Sort of a white Ebonics. You all know the term ebonics ... it is a word that means "I am illiterate, but I cannot spell illiterate". I think, nay .. I know, that we as a nation are losing, or have lost, the ability to utilize our language. I understand that I myself do not have the fluency in our great language that I would really like to possess. But I do so admire those who write well, spell well, and are able to make English sing and dance. That is one of the reasons that I read so much and one of the reasons that I am fascinated by quotes, in whatever language, lyrics, plays on words and quips.

Three of the best and most quotable persons in American history, in my mind, are Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain and Julius 'Groucho' Marx. The very best being Groucho. Is there anyone extant who has not heard or doesn't remember a quote of his?

1. Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it and then misapplying the wrong remedies.
2. I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be willing to make an exception.
3. Anyone who says he can see through women is really missing a lot.
4. Now there's a man with an open mind - you can feel the breeze from here!
5. Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others.
6. I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it.
7. Either this man is dead or my watch has stopped.
8. Remember men you are fighting for the ladies honor, which is probably more than she ever did.
9. Last night I shot an elephant in my Pajamas and how he got in my pajamas I'll never know.
10. I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.

And one that is the motto of Tucson's own .. Bookman's Used Books [purveyors of used books, games, CDs, tapes, records, et al... one of my favorite haunts]. "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." They have that emblazoned on t-shirts, mugs, etc. in the store.

Have a great weekend, must get moving. LFTD