My birthday was a little over a week ago. The best gift that I got wasn't one thing, but an experience. I found out that my wife is a lot more talented than me in certain areas and I shouldn't try to think while drunk. (Which might bode ill for this blog as I'm on my second glass of scotch). I had a little party at Shakespeare's this year with a bunch of people showing up. When it came time to open my wife's gift I was happy to find a Tower's of Hanoi set. I've liked this puzzle ever since I first learned about it in college. Along with the puzzle came a riddle! I hadn't had too much to drink at this point so I deciphered it pretty quickly and figured out that I would have to wait until I got home for the next piece of the puzzle. Late that night when I finally got home, after a short run in with the police, don't ride with friends that have suspended licenses, I tried to solve the next piece of the puzzle. This is when I figured out I shouldn't try to think to hard after drinking. I got pretty frustrated with it and I think even hurt my wife's feelings. At that point I gave up and went to bed. Luckily my wife forgave me and when I got home from the work the next day I made it through the rest of the riddles and found two more gifts. I'll end this post with the riddles that I had to figure out.
1.
We visit it frequently
Nearly every supper
Look to this holder
Of the quicker picker-upper
2.
From here it gets harder
You must travel East,
if only in thought, to
recall the spirit of the gift.
- Queen of Afghanistan
3.
I've been to an Island Along A Great Rim
a paradise abundant, feasts at my whim;
a land of milk, a long of Bee Nectar,
I Fed Like A Babe, then sadly I left her.
4a.
They Stand among friends,
looking commonplace
They hardly ever move,
taking up our Shared Space,
How rude! they whisper,
All circled and grouped,
Like they've something to hide,
Inside their rigid loop.
4b.
They are messy as neighbors
but tolerate we must.
It's illegal to harm them
or remove them from us!
4c.
Tall proud and naked,
they are a shameless bunch
Always dropping things
to the floor
with a crunch
5.
You are near
Where the
journey Ends
Go to the edge of the world
- S.S.
6.
Where some people keep
small change,
and others keep
larger assets
7.
You may have noticed that I'm terrible
at rhyme, meter, iambic pentameter;
but I once became acquainted with
an oft-drunk literary genius who was
fabulous at it...