Bad Cold by Shel Silverstein

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  This cold is too much for my shortsleeve. Go get me a Kleenex--and fast. I sniffle and wheeze And I'm ready to sneeze And I don't know how long I can last.... Atchoo--it's to wet for a kleenex, So bring me handkerchief, quick. It's--atchoo--no joke, Now the handkerchief's soaked. Hey, a dish towel just might do the trick. Atchoo--it's too much for bath towel. There never has been such a cold. I'll be better off With that big tablecloth, No--bring me the flag off the pole. Atchoo--bring the clothes from the closet, Atchaa--get the sheets from the bed, The drapes off the window, The rugs off the floor To soak up this cold in my head. Atchoo-- hurry down to the circus And ask if they'll lend you the tent. You say they said yes? Here it comes--Lord be blessed-- Here it is--Ah-kachoooo--there it went.

The Scientist

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Starting a new section in my reading guide on “Foundations of Science and Mathematics.” This song came to mind as it’s back to the start, reading through the ancient then 16th, 17th and 18th centuries sources, the founders of mathematical and scientific ideas (Euclid, Archimedes, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, et al.) Maybe the cooler nights will bring clearer skies for stargazing, to follow the moon and reflect on how we understand our world, to be a better person. 


“Man is now a world traveler, who sees his motions projected into the sky and thus becomes the measure of all things.” — Curtis Wilson, Dean, St. John’s College


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