Friday, February 05, 2010

THE WISDOM OF DR. JOHNSON

“Sir, a woman preaching is like a dog walking on his hind legs. It is not done well but you are surprised to find it done at all.” - Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Dr. Johnson’s sexism notwithstanding, his quote is a thing of beauty, for it may be paraphrased and used in all manner of ways.

For example:

“Sir, a Tennessean building a snowman is like a dog walking on his hind legs. It is not done well but you are surprised to find it done at all.”

Think about it: If a decent amount of snow should fall once in a thousand days, how would men preserve for many generations the knowledge to create a Snow-Homunculus? So what if the damned things came out (after a few warm days) looking like the bastard get of Frosty and a wayward shmoo?

Snow-Shmoos

Lest my buddy Eric take offense at any perceived snarkiness - for it is, indeed, his hand (along with that of the lovely Fiona) that crafted these fine examples of the Snowmanly Arts - I can provide yet another paraphrase:

“Sir, a middle-aged Jewish suburbanite camping in the Tennessee backwoods is like a dog walking on his hind legs. It is not done well but you are surprised to find it done at all.”

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