Minimalist poet, minimalist lifestyle

A psychiatrist visited a California mental institution and asked a patient, "How did you get here? What was the nature of your illness?" He got the following reply.

"Well, it all started when I got married and I guess I should never have done it. I married a widow with a grown daughter who then became my stepdaughter.

My dad came to visit us, fell in love with my lovely stepdaughter, then married her. And so my stepdaughter was now my stepmother. Soon, my wife had a son who was, of course, my daddy's brother-in-law since he is the half-brother of my stepdaughter, who is now, of course, my daddy's wife.

So, as I told you, when my stepdaughter married my daddy, she was at once my stepmother! Now, since my new son is brother to my stepmother, he also became my uncle. As you know, my wife is my step-grandmother since she is my stepmother's mother. Don't forget that my stepmother is my stepdaughter. Remember, too, that I am my wife's grandson.

But hold on just a few minutes more. You see, since I'm married to my step-grandmother, I am not only the wife's grandson and her hubby, but I am also my own grandfather. Now can you understand how I got put in this place?"

After staring blankly with a dizzy look on his face, the psychiatrist replied: "Move over!"

The Emperor Paul, of Russia, was so provoked by the awkwardness of an officer on review that he ordered him to resign at once and retire to his estate. "But he has no estate," the commander ventured. "Then give him one!" thundered the despot, whose word was law, and the man gained more by his blunders than he could have done by years of the most skillful service.

I've just been looking at Sitemeter to see who's been visiting my blog and noticed that I've recently had a visitor from Minden, Germany.

As a Yorkshireman, Minden is an important place to me because of the Battle of Minden (August 1st 1759); the reason being that as soldiers of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry were advancing into battle they passed through some gardens and plucked white roses to stick onto their tunics.

'Minden Day' was thereafter celebrated annually in all battalions of the regiment on August 1st when the white rose of Yorkshire is worn by all ranks in their caps: and, of course, nowadays the white rose is the emblem of Yorkshire, and August 1st is celebrated as Yorkshire Day.'

I've just climbed the 27 steps up to my attic bedroom to water my rudbeckia seedlings which I've placed on the windowsill. Together with the steps down into the cellar, and five steps from my kitchen down into the garden; my house has 42 steps in total - meaning I must be climbing up and down at least a couple of hundred steps every day. It's one way of taking some exercise I suppose.