Blasphemy with TSSB (our national anthem)

Or, having fun with the subject line in emails to my sweetie

One morning last month, October 15th, to be exact, we had slept with the windows open. Bob had left for work and James and Amber had gone home after a four day weekend. For some odd reason, James had set the possom trap before he left. He did not bait the thing. He just set it. I noticed that he also likes to close doors and adjust things. For example, to keep the computer cool, I let the door behind the computer stay open. James probably had not guessed why the door was left ajar, and closed it. So, why he opened the door to the trap and set it, is still a mystery to me.

I was waiting for the dawns early light so that I could see into the back yard, as it sounded like something was in the trap. And as it reminded me of The Star Spangled Banner line, "by the dawn's early light..." I put that into he subject line to Bob in an email. Thus began an exchange of emails where I used lines from our national anthem in the subject line to describe the situation of a possom caught in the trap that had not even been baited. (we have since tried to leave it thataway again, but no possom had wandered into the trap again, so we closed it before heading out to see grandkids before Thanksgiving. we did not want to come home to a very stinky "caught" possom.)

Here, copied and pasted, for your enjoyment, is that exchange of emails. As you know, you have to read from the bottom up to get the full effect. At one point, Bob was stumped by my subject line renderings, so his wit is hitherto exposed:

Tue, November 15, 2011 3:55:19 PMRE: (James' possom) catches the gleam...on the stream
From: "Williamson, Bob"
To: Joyce Williamson


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Ahhh! I should have recognized it. I know the first and last stanzas, but you had me stumped with that those two lines about the hireling and slave.



From: Joyce Williamson
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 3:11 PM
To: Williamson, Bob
Subject: (James' possom) catches the gleam...on the stream



it is more of the Star Spangled Banner... and have you noticed that if obama knew the last verse, he would not have been stumped about what our national motto is??



O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!



anyway, the city came and picked out James' patriotic possom, so:



Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:



(James' possom will catch the gleam of the morning's first beam from a park, hopefully that has a stream...)



I know it is probably blasphemous to compare James' possom to our flag...but, I just started the first email to you by the dawns early light, and could not let go. Love, Joyceeeeee






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From: "Williamson, Bob"
To: Joyce Williamson
Sent: Tue, November 15, 2011 1:07:19 PM
Subject: RE: No refuge could save the hireling and slave

My thoughts exactly. (Sorry, you have me stumped.)



From: Joyce Williamson
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 11:59 AM
To: Williamson, Bob
Subject: No refuge could save the hireling and slave



No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave




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From: "Williamson, Bob"
To: Joyce Williamson
Sent: Tue, November 15, 2011 11:28:24 AM
Subject: RE: at the twilight's last gleeming??

I’ve used a shovel to club a possum before, but that would just deprive some fox or cougar of a good meal. If the city dawdles, I’ll just take him up to the Trinity River when I get home.



From: Joyce Williamson
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 11:21 AM
To: Williamson, Bob
Subject: at the twilight's last gleeming??



well, the city ain't picked it up yet. poor thang is gettin' frantic. how do we propose we do the deed??




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From: "Williamson, Bob"
To: Joyce Williamson
Sent: Tue, November 15, 2011 7:52:54 AM
Subject: RE: by the dawns early light...

Them possums ain’t the brightest of critters, is they? Maybe if we baited the trap, we’d have caught three of them. (Such a shame you called the city already; this could have solved our dilemma of what to add to the Thanksgiving dinner at James and Amber’s.)





From: Joyce Williamson
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 7:35 AM
To: Williamson, Bob
Subject: by the dawns early light...



I heard noises in the backyard but I had to wait for the sky to get light...



and lo, James' possom. James set the trap for some strange reason when he was here. I noticed that James likes things closed. set. He kept closing the door between this room and the spare room. I keep it open so I can see the pictures, and to give us a few more inches with the rocker in the doorway. But, James kept closing doors. we keep the door behind the computer open to keep it cool, but James did not know that. funny.



I called the city animal control and left a message. and unlocked the gate.



it is a pretty big possom. big head. talk about stupid...there was no food in the trap. why wander into an empty trap when there is a whole yard of seeds upon which to dine??



Ah, James' possom just yawned. too funny.



Love, Joyce
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Did you start here??

Did it make sense?

I did a google search on our national anthem, and pondered the verses we have not sung in ages. Yikes. Deep stuff there. When was the last time you read all four verses? When was the last time you either sang or heard them all ???