January 25, 2023: Kendal on Hudson's First Robert Burns Night Celebration

All the Basics for a Robert Burns Night Celebration: Robert Burns and Scottish Shortbread

Proper Attire Was Worn by Thems What Got ‘Em

Musicians Are Part of the Evening, too

And So the Evening Begins with a Welcome from the Organizing Base: The Education Committee

♼

A Moment of Grace to Start Us Out

The Selkirk Grace

Some hae meat and canna eat,

And some wad eat that want it,

But we hae meat and we can eat,

Sae let the Lord be Thankit!

♼

A Well-Beloved Burns Love Poem

A Red, Red Rose

(1794)

O my Luve is like a red, red rose

That’s newly sprung in June;

O my Luve is like the melody

That’s sweetly played in tune.

 

So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

Till a’ the seas gang dry.

 

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;

I will love thee still, my dear,

While the sands o’ life shall run.

 

And fare thee weel, my only luve!

And fare thee weel awhile!

And I will come again, my luve,

Though it were ten thousand mile.

♼

Some Burns Philosophy with His Poetry: A Man’s a Man for A’ That

To A Mouse

(1786)

 

On Turning her up in her Nest, with the Plough, November 1785.

Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie,

O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!

Thou need na start awa sae hasty,

Wi’ bickerin brattle!

I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee

Wi’ murd’ring pattle!

 

I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion

Has broken Nature’s social union,

An’ justifies that ill opinion,

Which makes thee startle,

At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,

An’ fellow-mortal!

 

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;

What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!

A daimen-icker in a thrave

’S a sma’ request:

I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave,

An’ never miss ’t!

 

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!

It’s silly wa’s the win’s are strewin!

An’ naething, now, to big a new ane,

O’ foggage green!

An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin,

Baith snell an’ keen!

 

Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,

An’ weary Winter comin fast,

An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,

Thou thought to dwell,

Till crash! the cruel coulter past

Out thro’ thy cell.

 

That wee-bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble

Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!

Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble,

But house or hald,

To thole the Winter’s sleety dribble,

An’ cranreuch cauld!

 

But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men

Gang aft agley,

An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,

For promis’d joy!

 

Still, thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me!

The present only toucheth thee:

But Och! I backward cast my e’e,

On prospects drear!

An’ forward tho’ I canna see,

I guess an’ fear!

♼

Winter: A Dirge (and very apt a few weeks later)

Winter: A Dirge

(1781)

The wintry west extends his blast,

And hail and rain does blaw;

Or, the stormy north sends driving forth

The blinding sleet and snaw:

While tumbling brown, the burn comes down,

And roars frae bank to brae;

And bird and beast in covert rest,

And pass the heartless day.

 

The sweeping blast, the sky o’ercast,

The joyless winter-day,

Let others fear, to me more dear

Than all the pride of May:

The tempest’s howl, it soothes my soul,

My griefs it seems to join;

The leafless trees my fancy please,

Their fate resembles mine!

 

Thou Pow’r Supreme, whose mighty scheme

These woes of mine fulfil,

Here, firm, I rest, they must be best,

Because they are Thy will!

Then all I want (O, do Thou grant

This one request of mine!)

Since to enjoy Thou dost deny,

Assist me to resign.

♼

A Final Song: Auld Lang Syne—All of It—and All Joined In

Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
     For auld lang syne.
     We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
     For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint stowp!
And surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

Chorus

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
Sin’ auld lang syne.

Chorus

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin’ auld lang syne.

Chorus

And there’s a hand, my trusty fere!
And gie’s a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right gude-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.

Chorus

♼

All Capped Off with “A Parting Grace”

A Parting Grace

O Thou, in whom we live and move,
Who made the sea and shore,
Thou goodness constantly we prove,
And, grateful, would adore.

And, if it please Thee, Power above!
Still grant us with such store
The friend we trust, the fair we love,
And we desire no more.

♼

The Evening’s Image: the Highland Cow, Created by Jane Hart, a Bit of Serendipity—Jane Didn’t Know Burns’ Had a Particular Affection for “A Highland Coo”

Photographs by Art Brady. Poetry/Song by Robert Burns.

Art by Hart

With windchill a zillion degrees below zero, the Mortensons were warm and cozy in their tiny home

The male mermaids were a very rough bunch

Endicott took pride in his diverse heritage

Lauren was more than happy with her plant-based rejuvenating cream

Once again, Dr. Wipper had overbooked his 9:42 appointment slot

Art and photographs contributed by Jane Hart

For Your Funny Bone

"Getting older. I used to be able to run a 4-minute mile, bench press 380 pounds, and tell the truth." - Conan O'Brien

"Grandchildren don't make a man feel old, it's the knowledge that he's married to a grandmother that does." - J. Norman Collie

"You know you are getting old when everything hurts, and what doesn't hurt doesn't work." - Hy Gardner

"When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it's a sure sign you're getting old." - Mark Twain

"You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks." - Joel Plaskett

"There's one advantage to being 102, there's no peer pressure." - Dennis Wolfberg

"At my age 'getting lucky' means walking into a room and remembering what I came in for." – George Burns

"Old age is when you resent the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated because there are fewer articles to read." –George Burns

"You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there." - George Burns

"People ask me what I'd most appreciate getting for my eighty-seventh birthday. I tell them, a paternity suit." - George Burns

"When I turned 75, I started telling people I was 85 just so they would tell me how great I look for my age." – Anonymous

Save the trees, or . . .

For Your Funny Bone

"It's important to have a twinkle in your wrinkle." – Unknown

"I have successfully completed the thirty-year transition from wanting to stay up late to just wanting to go to bed." – Unknown

"The years between 50 and 70 are the hardest You are always being asked to do things, and yet you are not decrepit enough to turn them down." - t.s. elliot

"As you get older three things happen. The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two." - Sir Norman Wisdom

"Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest." - Larry Lorenzon

"I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap." - Bob Hope

"I was thinking about how people seem to read the bible a lot more as they get older, and then it dawned on me—they're cramming for their final exam."- George Carlin

"I'm 59 and people call me middle-aged. How many 118-year-old men do you know?"- Barry Cryer

"I don't do alcohol anymore—I get the same effect just standing up fast." – Anonymous

"Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative." – Maurice Chevalier

Art by Hart

Captain Rayburn was proud of the friends he'd acquired on his many voyages

Mrs. Barnes hated not knowing anybody

Lisette couldn't remember if this was her third facelift or her fourth

Elmer tried to convince the chef that veggie-burgers are the new filet mignon

A ton of pancake makeup gave Wilford back his youth

Art and Photos by Jane Hart

Art by Hart

Cassie and Jumbo felt that bird migration was late this year.

Dunbar felt it was probably time to get the car washed.

When class was crowded, Barton had to share his yoga mat.

With no shelf available after Jan. 15, the elf fell into his Seasonal Affective Depression.

Even when the twins were small, Chad could tell that Lola was an extravert and Lele was a mouse.

After renovations, admission to the bubble museum had tripled.

Art and Photos by Jane Hart

For Your Funny Bone

And Now, a New Feature . . .

Brought to you by Shelley Robinson

Cartoons and captions created by Shelley Robinson

Chuckles from the Web

Images provided by Carlisle Spivey

As We Age, We Realize . . .

"Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are aboard there is nothing you can do about it." - Golda Meir

"I'm so old that my blood type is discontinued." - Bill Dane

"The older I get, the more clearly I remember things that never happened. - Mark Twain

"Always be nice to your children because they are the ones who will choose your retirement home."- Phyllis Diller

"I don't plan to grow old gracefully. I plan to have face-lifts until my ears meet." - Rita Rudner

"I'm at that age where my back goes out more than I do." - Phyllis Diller

"Nice to be here? At my age it's nice to be anywhere." – George Burns

"First you forget names, then you forget faces, then you forget to pull your zipper up, then you forget to pull your zipper down." - Leo Rosenberg

"Old people shouldn't eat health foods. They need all the preservatives they can get." – Robert Orben

"Old age is when you're sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings, and you hope it isn't for you." – Unknown

© Kendal on Hudson Residents Association 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 all rights reserved.  Please do not reproduce without permission.

Photographs of life at Kendal on Hudson are by residents.