(no subject)
I'm trying to start taking some pictures again with dpchallenge. One of the topics this week is Dr. Seuss. I'm sure there are going to be a ton of pictures about red fish, blue fish, cats in hates, or green eggs and ham. I don't want to do something obvious. I actually first thought of this book which was one of my family's favorite Seuss stories. We had a Mulberry St. in my town, and it was a street we had to cross on the way to the library. To this day, I always imagine Mulberry St. as being an exciting place with elephant and zebra traffic, confetti and ribbons, and swooping planes.. As a kid I was always mad that it wasn't actually part of the regular parade route.
Anyway, it's Dr. Seuss's first book and is supposedly his commentary on the stiffling of childrens' imaginations.
When I leave home to walk to school,
Dad always says to me,
"Marco, keep your eyelids up
And see what you can see."
But when I tell him where I've been
And what I think I've seen,
He looks at me and sternly says,
"Your eyesight's much too keen.
"Stop telling such outlandish tales.
Stop turning minnows into whales."
Now, what can I say
When I get home today?
All the long way to school
And all the way back,
I've looked and I've looked
And I've kept careful track.
But all that I've noticed,
Except my own feet,
Was a horse and a wagon
On Mulberry Street.
That's nothing to tell of,
That won't do, of course...
Just a broken-down wagon
That's drawn by a horse.
That can't be my story. That only a start.
I'll say that a ZEBRA was pulling that cart!
And that is a story that no one can beat,
When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street.
Yes, the zebra is fine.
But I think it's a shame,
Such a marvelous beast
With a cart that's so tame.
The story would really be better to hear
If the driver I saw were a charioteer.
A gold and blue chariot's something to meet,
Rumbling like thunder down Mulberry Street!
No, it won't do at all...
A zebra's too small.
A reindeer is better;
He's fast and he's fleet,
And he'd look mighty smart
On old Mulberry Street.
Hold on a minute!
There's something wrong!
A reindeer hates the way it feels
To pull a thing that runs on wheels.
He'd be much happier, instead,
If he could pull a fancy sled.
Hmmmm...A reindeer and sleigh...
Say--anyone could think of that,
Jack or Fred or Joe or Nat---
Say, even Jane could think of that.
But it isn't too late to make one little change.
A sleigh and an ELEPHANT! There's something strange!
I'll pick one with plenty of power and size,
A blue one with plenty of fun in his eyes.
And then, just to give him a little more tone,
Have a Rajah, with rubies, perched high on a throne.
Say! That makes a story that no one can beat,
When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street.
But now I don't know...
It still doesn't seem right.
An elephant pulling a thing that's so light
Would whip it around in the air like a kite.
But he'd look simply grand
With a great big brass band!
A band that's so good should have someone to hear it,
But it's going so fast that it's hard to keep near it.
I'll put on a trailer! I know they won't mind
If a man sits and listens while hitched on behind.
But now is it fair? Is it fair what I've done?
I'll bet those wagons weigh more than a ton.
That's really too heavy a load for one beast;
I'll give him some helpers. He needs two, at least.
But now what worries me is this..
Mulberry Street runs into Bliss,
Unless there's something I can fix up,
There'll be an awful traffic mix-up!
It takes Police to do the trick,
To guide them through where traffic's thick --
It takes Police to do the trick.
They'll never crash now. They'll race at top speed
With Sergeant Mulvaney, himself, in the lead.
The Mayor is there
And he thinks it is grand,
And he raises his hat
As they dash by the stand.
The Mayor is there
And the Aldermen too,
All waving big banners
Of red, white and blue.
And that is a story that NO ONE can beat
When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street!
With a roar of its motor an airplane appears
And dumps out confetti while everyone cheers.
And that makes a story that's really not bad!
But it still could be better. Suppose that I add.........
...A Chinese man
Who eats with sticks....
A big Magician
Doing tricks...
A ten-foot beard
That needs a comb....
No time for more,
I'm almost home.
I swung 'round the corner
And dashed through the gate,
I ran up the steps
And I felt simply GREAT!
FOR I HAD A STORY THAT NO ONE COULD BEAT!
AND TO THINK THAT I SAW IT ON MULBERRY STREET|
But Dad said quite calmly,
"Just draw up your stool
And tell me the sights
On the way home from school."
There was so much to tell, I JUST COULDN'T BEGIN!
Dad looked at me sharply and pulled at his chin.
He frowned at me sternly from there in his seat,
"Was there nothing to look at...no people to greet?
Did nothing excite you or make your heart beat?"
"Nothing," I said, growing red as a beet,
"But a plain horse and wagon on Mulberry Street."
Of course I have no real ideas of an appropriate photo to go with the story. My other initial idea is to take a picture of a monkey tree or of these crazy curly landscaping shrubs they grow at all the tree factories (nurseries) around my house. They look so strange to me, and have always made me think of a Seuss landscape.
I might stop by a bookstore today and flip through the Seuss books and see if I can come up with any other inspiration.
Anyway, it's Dr. Seuss's first book and is supposedly his commentary on the stiffling of childrens' imaginations.
When I leave home to walk to school,
Dad always says to me,
"Marco, keep your eyelids up
And see what you can see."
But when I tell him where I've been
And what I think I've seen,
He looks at me and sternly says,
"Your eyesight's much too keen.
"Stop telling such outlandish tales.
Stop turning minnows into whales."
Now, what can I say
When I get home today?
All the long way to school
And all the way back,
I've looked and I've looked
And I've kept careful track.
But all that I've noticed,
Except my own feet,
Was a horse and a wagon
On Mulberry Street.
That's nothing to tell of,
That won't do, of course...
Just a broken-down wagon
That's drawn by a horse.
That can't be my story. That only a start.
I'll say that a ZEBRA was pulling that cart!
And that is a story that no one can beat,
When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street.
Yes, the zebra is fine.
But I think it's a shame,
Such a marvelous beast
With a cart that's so tame.
The story would really be better to hear
If the driver I saw were a charioteer.
A gold and blue chariot's something to meet,
Rumbling like thunder down Mulberry Street!
No, it won't do at all...
A zebra's too small.
A reindeer is better;
He's fast and he's fleet,
And he'd look mighty smart
On old Mulberry Street.
Hold on a minute!
There's something wrong!
A reindeer hates the way it feels
To pull a thing that runs on wheels.
He'd be much happier, instead,
If he could pull a fancy sled.
Hmmmm...A reindeer and sleigh...
Say--anyone could think of that,
Jack or Fred or Joe or Nat---
Say, even Jane could think of that.
But it isn't too late to make one little change.
A sleigh and an ELEPHANT! There's something strange!
I'll pick one with plenty of power and size,
A blue one with plenty of fun in his eyes.
And then, just to give him a little more tone,
Have a Rajah, with rubies, perched high on a throne.
Say! That makes a story that no one can beat,
When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street.
But now I don't know...
It still doesn't seem right.
An elephant pulling a thing that's so light
Would whip it around in the air like a kite.
But he'd look simply grand
With a great big brass band!
A band that's so good should have someone to hear it,
But it's going so fast that it's hard to keep near it.
I'll put on a trailer! I know they won't mind
If a man sits and listens while hitched on behind.
But now is it fair? Is it fair what I've done?
I'll bet those wagons weigh more than a ton.
That's really too heavy a load for one beast;
I'll give him some helpers. He needs two, at least.
But now what worries me is this..
Mulberry Street runs into Bliss,
Unless there's something I can fix up,
There'll be an awful traffic mix-up!
It takes Police to do the trick,
To guide them through where traffic's thick --
It takes Police to do the trick.
They'll never crash now. They'll race at top speed
With Sergeant Mulvaney, himself, in the lead.
The Mayor is there
And he thinks it is grand,
And he raises his hat
As they dash by the stand.
The Mayor is there
And the Aldermen too,
All waving big banners
Of red, white and blue.
And that is a story that NO ONE can beat
When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street!
With a roar of its motor an airplane appears
And dumps out confetti while everyone cheers.
And that makes a story that's really not bad!
But it still could be better. Suppose that I add.........
...A Chinese man
Who eats with sticks....
A big Magician
Doing tricks...
A ten-foot beard
That needs a comb....
No time for more,
I'm almost home.
I swung 'round the corner
And dashed through the gate,
I ran up the steps
And I felt simply GREAT!
FOR I HAD A STORY THAT NO ONE COULD BEAT!
AND TO THINK THAT I SAW IT ON MULBERRY STREET|
But Dad said quite calmly,
"Just draw up your stool
And tell me the sights
On the way home from school."
There was so much to tell, I JUST COULDN'T BEGIN!
Dad looked at me sharply and pulled at his chin.
He frowned at me sternly from there in his seat,
"Was there nothing to look at...no people to greet?
Did nothing excite you or make your heart beat?"
"Nothing," I said, growing red as a beet,
"But a plain horse and wagon on Mulberry Street."
Of course I have no real ideas of an appropriate photo to go with the story. My other initial idea is to take a picture of a monkey tree or of these crazy curly landscaping shrubs they grow at all the tree factories (nurseries) around my house. They look so strange to me, and have always made me think of a Seuss landscape.
I might stop by a bookstore today and flip through the Seuss books and see if I can come up with any other inspiration.