Poem for Tuesday

A Man's a Man
By Robert Burns

Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an' a' that;
The coward slave-we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
Our toils obscure an' a' that,
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The Man's the gowd for a' that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an' a that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine;
A Man's a Man for a' that:
For a' that, and a' that,
Their tinsel show, an' a' that;
The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a cuif for a' that:
For a' that, an' a' that,
His ribband, star, an' a' that:
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
But an honest man's aboon his might,
Gude faith, he maunna fa' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their dignities an' a' that;
The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.

--------

Burns wrote "A Man's a Man" in 1795. In 1999, it was sung at the opening of Scottish Parliament.

My kids had no school so teachers could wrap up first semester stuff, and since there was a dusting of snow on the ground when we woke up and fits of flurries during the morning, we stuck close to home. So I have nothing of interest to report except that Daniel is mostly over his cold, finally. We watched The Other Boleyn Girl because I was recording it for my uncle, then I took Adam to tennis (where he was displeased at the emphasis in the higher level on learning to serve, which he thinks is boring). By the time we got home, it was nearly dinnertime.


Here are some more photos from the weekend of Ellicott City, the onetime mill town that now features antique shops and craft stores along its winding, hilly historic streets.


The Ellicott City Firehouse Museum, housed in an 1889 fire station, displays antique fire-fighting equipment.


Ellicott City (originally Ellicott's Mills) is allegedly built on seven hills, like Rome. The tributary of the Patapsco River that runs through the historic district beneath several buildings is called the Tiber River.


This allows for shop and restaurant names like Tea on the Tiber, an English tea parlor that serves cucumber sandwiches, scones, lemon curd, and of course clotted cream, along with fruit, cheese, and pastries.


Bedrock emerging from the hillsides has rendered certain lots impossible to use for houses or shops.


But most of the historic district's antique shops wind up and down the hills.


This is a town where nostalgic kitsch can be found as well as high-end items, like this two-level toy store with Playmobil and Thomas the Tank Engine as well as older toys.


And that hasn't stopped crystals, fairies, and other heralds of the New Age movement from proliferating as well.

In the evening we started watching the third season of Arrested Development -- only ten episodes left, woe! And there was Charlize Theron as a British agent/possible love interest for Michael, and Harry Hamlin in a gratuitous cameo as a lawyer, and Scott Baio in a recurring role as Bob Loblaw (say it aloud, we were all howling), and Tobias getting business cards printed up naming his dual roles as analyst and therapist and not understanding why people get upset when he comes up with "analrapist" as his title. And the Church and State Fair where the Rabbis beat the firemen! I am going to miss this show so much, even though it was canceled years ago.