Sad News
With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person, which almost went unnoticed last week.
Roland Lawrence LaPrise (Larry) LaPrise, the man that wrote "The Hokey Pokey" died peacefully at the age of 95.
He will probably be most remembered for his innovative approach to music. His funeral was attended by thousands which only illustrates the impact this man had on so many.
A curious thing about the funeral was noted by a Mr. Smith, of New York City, NY. "I've never seen anything like it," he said, through tears. "After we all paid our final respects, they played the 'Hokey Pokey' as a tribute to him. That's when things got a little wild."
"One minute he was laying in his coffin, peaceful as could be. Then when that music cranked up, well, he put his left foot out, and shook it all about, then put his right foot out and shook it all about, which by this time, I'm shaking like a sonofabitch myself!!" Mr. Smith took a ragged breath, dabbed at his eyes, his hand still shaking.
"I guess the worse part was when he turned himself about. That's when all hell broke loose. Everybody screamed, some fainted, I remember at one point his widow shouting, Die you fucker, die! and that's when I lost it. I remember climbing over some rich bitch in a full-length mink, screaming "And that's what its all about!!!" over and over...and running into the street."
"If I never hear that song again, it'll be too soon. Crazy old bastard. I heard the fucking priest is too scared to go back in there. Even the funeral director won't drive the hearse to the cemetery. He said he wasn't putting somebody that lively back there. 'If he can do that Hokey Pokey shit, he can damn well walk!' Oh, its all so awful!"
12 comments:
OMG!!!! This really cracked me up! Reminded me of an old favorite:
"What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?" Thank you for visiting my blog. I am soooo sorry for your loss. As I said, that is a horror beyond imagining to me. I don't know about the "stages". For me, they came and went and often blurred together. I frankly can't imagine ever leaving the "denbial" stage, were it my child. Oh, Gods, woman, my heart goes out to you.
Just a couple of days ago, my daughter and I were talking about the sometimes overwhelming urge we get to just pick up the phone and call him! She was like: "What's up with that"??
I said I think it's a bit of the denial stage still going on. Somehow overall we have "gotten used to" his absence in our daily lives, but then on some fucked up level, we still want to call him to share good news or hear his voice when we're down.
I dunno. Surviving the death of someone you love is kinda like a trainwreck or something.
That's so messed up that peeps bail when you mention your son's needless death. That's prolly part of why. The neddlessness of it. People have finally awakened to the awful truth of this fucked up, greed based war and are horrified when it hits them for real, even by virtue of "6 degrees of separation".
If you ever want to vent, share your feelings or stories about your son or just blab, please gimme a holler. Email me anytime at {thorne at hartjoy dot com}, and please stop by often. I'm adding you to my blogroll as a "friend" as soon as I update.
That is great....HA!
That song was originally written with the word "penis" in place of the words right/left foot...
It's true..
But it never got passed the censors at the church picnics...
YOU GOT ME DEB!
I was ready to get out the kleenex box thinking Deb has been through so much and now THIS!
HAHAHA you have no idea how much I needed a laugh today.
Ok...now get your ass over here and clean up the apple juice I spilled all over!:)
Priceless!!!
I love,love,love it.....:)
Heheheh, I need rubber knickers, I've laughed so much, "you are awful, but I like you"....!
Very funny. The only thing better than the hokey pokey is the chicken dance, lol
Actually, this post started from an email forward, but I took a bit further.
Thorne, thanks for stopping by, and I appreciate your comments very much. I never looked at it like that, "six degrees of separation", or even "there but the grace of God, go I".
I have sent my son emails many times, and IM's. When I watched white noise, I really got some ideas, and in a way I'm thankful I didn't have the technical where with all to carry out my plans.
What's strange is the ims went through, but I didn't get a typed reply.
Deb you win the best post of the week award. You are a lunatic and I love ya for it. Have a great weekend. Stay cool
We did that dance at my wedding, and I don't know how many of my friends wouldn't forgive me! I also did it when I used to teach kids English as a bilingual teacher. Me, I love dancing, no matter how silly it may appear. Godspeed to him!
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