Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘purple cow’

The Purple Cow

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Journeys, Lonely Planet Pathfinder, tagged , on July 23, 2017| 1 Comment »

Pepper and the Purple Cow. — Photo by Pat Bean

If you’re of an age like me, or even perhaps younger, you’ve probably quoted The Purple Cow Poem by Gelett Burgess. Written in 1895, one writer said it might be the most oft quoted poem of the 20th Century after The Night Before Christmas.

I never saw a purple cow

I never hope to see one;

But I can tell you, anyhow,

I’d rather see than be one!

Burgess, who published the poem in his 1895 wit and humor journal, finally grew tired of the poem. And so he wrote, in the 1897 final issue of The Lark,

Ah, yes, I wrote the “Purple Co

I’m Sorry, now, I wrote it;

But I can tell you Anyhow

I’ll Kill you if you Quote it!

Well, I’ve seen a purple cow, and so has my canine companion Pepper. She was a bit stumped by it, as you can see from the above photo. You can see it, to, if you visit The Waynesboro N. 340 Campground in Waynesboro, Virginia.

Bean Pat: The Shame of It. http://tinyurl.com/ydgd3gu4 This blog is long, and aimed at writers and ends with something to sell. In other words, it’s the kind of blog, well except for being aimed at writers, that I never give a shout out. But there is so much to ponder in it that I broke my own rules. I love this blog.

Pat Bean is a Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder. Her book, Travels with Maggie, is soon to be released. You can contact her at patbean@msn.com 

Read Full Post »

A Wondering Day for this Wanderer

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Books, Favorite Places, Nature, Travel, Writing, tagged , , , , , on October 12, 2012| 8 Comments »

            “It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.” – Mark Twain

Adventures with Pepper: Day 22

I didn’t wonder at all about this willow tree. I just enjoyed how it gracefully hung over the pond at the Indian Springs Campground near North Bend, Ohio. — Photo by Pat Bean

Today’s drive, mostly on Highway 50, was a wondering one for this wanderer.

The first city I passed through, a tiny town called Gnaw Bone that had lots of flea markets, got me wondering how a town got to be named Gnaw Bone.

Perhaps it wasn’t.

I learned that the area was originally a French settlement called Narbonne, which English settlers might have mistranslated as Gnaw Bone.

I didn’t stop at any of the flea markets, just in case you wondered.  No room in Gypsy Lee for stuff.

It was an overcast drizzly day, and although 50 was certainly a backroad, it wasn’t untraveled. My brain wasn’t untraveled either. My thoughts were all over the place.

Just as a storm of leaves blew across the highway east of North Vernon, a lavender semi drove through them. Now I’ve seen purple semis but never a lavender one. It left me wondering about the driver. Man or woman? I couldn’t tell as the large vehicle passed me on a curve.

But then I found myself wondering why one of these geese on the pond wasn’t like the others. — Photo by Pat Bean

And then I found myself quoting out loud to my canine traveling companion, Pepper. “I never saw a purple cow. I never hope to see one. But I would rather see, than be one.”

Well, OK. It was just that kind of day.

And then there was the old green truck with a rear sticker that asked: “Who is John Galt?” That question got me thinking about how life is lived at either end of the pendulum. I read Ayn Rand’s book, “Atlas Shrugged” at a pivotal time in my life, and got a lot from it. It wouldn’t mean the same thing to me these days.

And so the day went until I finally pulled into the Indian Springs Campground near North Bend, Ohio.

Then I spent the evening wondering which side of the Ohio River I was going to travel down tomorrow. Tune in Monday to find out..

Book Report: I was up before 6 a.m. to work on it, but most of the time was spent unraveling the back roads I took from Brimfield, Massachusetts, to Monroe, New York. But I got it done. Travels with Maggie is now up to 55,617 words.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Live to Write http://tinyurl.com/9efoarz Tarzan or Jane? A fun question to make you think. My answer is Jane, because she got to experience two worlds.

Read Full Post »