By Robert Burns
My curse upon your venom'd stang,
That shoots my tortur'd gums alang,
An' thro' my lug gies mony a twang,
Wi' gnawing vengeance;
Tearing my nerves wi' bitter pang,
Like racking engines!
When fevers burn, or argues freezes,
Rheumatics gnaw, or colics squeezes,
Our neibor's sympathy can ease us,
Wi' pitying moan;
But thee-thou hell o' a' diseases,
Aye mocks our groan.
A'down my beard the slavers trickle
I cast the wee stools o'er the meikle,
While round the fire the giglets keckle,
To see me loup,
While, raving mad, I wish a heckle
Were in their doup!
O' a' the numerous human dools,
Ill hairsts, daft bargains, cutty stools,
Or worthy frien's rak'd i' the mools,
Sad sight to see!
The tricks o' knaves, or fash o' fools,
Thou bear'st the gree!
Where'er that place be priests ca' hell,
Where a' the tones o' misery yell,
An' ranked plagues their numbers tell,
In dreadfu' raw,
Thou, Toothache, surely bear'st the bell,
Amang them a'!
O thou grim mischief-making chiel,
That gars the notes o' discord squeel,
Till daft mankind aft dance a reel
In gore, a shoe-thick,
Gie a' the faes o' Scotland's weal
A townmond's toothache!
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Sorry to be a day late for Burns' birthday!
Nothing major happened to me on Monday -- the kids had no school for the end of the semester, Daniel went anyway for an all-day robotics build session, Adam came to Bagel City with me to get bagels and spreads both for lunch and the rest of the week, I stopped at the mall with him to exchange something I've never worn, and that was all the excitement other than the weather, which included periods of torrential rain alternating with periods of clear skies and sunshine. My county has a flood warning for areas bordering the Potomac River, which is expected to be at or above flood stage by Wednesday morning, so here are some more photos of Great Falls from Saturday when the water was high but not jumping its banks:
Water droplets creating spray off the rocks in the Potomac River at Great Falls.
The river thundered quite loudly as it went over the rocks.
Some of the forks that usually have little water in them had heavy streams this weekend.
Adam climbed to the rocks over this area where driftwood has collected at the bottom of the largest waterfall.
The water in the C&O Canal by contrast was very low by the inn and packet boat.
There was more water where this heron was fishing...
...and where these ducks were feeding off the bottom.
I had to fold laundry in the late afternoon so I put on Peter Pan, which I've been meaning to rewatch since we went to the Maxfield Parrish exhibit a few weeks ago -- Parrish was obviously an influence on the art direction, which is spectacular -- plus it has Jason Isaacs as incredibly hot sexy shirtless Captain Hook, and adorable Mr. Darling who suffers humiliation at the hands of bankers, kids and dog alike, culminating with his declaration of belief in fairies in front of his business superiors. We watched Heroes, but the seesaw has me completely numb -- I no longer care whether Sylar wants to be good or evil, I no longer care whether Samuel is a psychopath or just an average guy with anger management issues and superpowers, I don't care whether Peter is off his rocker or just full of himself, I don't care whether Matt is naive or a total idiot. I'm really hoping this is the last season so I can say I saw it through to the end.
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