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SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | JULY 2022 15 By Clare Mendez, Resident Why do some tunes get stuck in our minds for hours on end? I recently thought of one that was deeply buried in my mind that I bet you can recall but you might need some help with all the words. Here goes, it's a doozie: A Letter From Camp Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh, Here I am at Camp Granada. Camp is very entertaining, And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining. I went hiking with Joe Spivey. He developed poison ivy. You remember Leonard Skinner. He got ptomaine poisoning last night after dinner. All the counselors hate the waiters, And the lake has alligators. And the head coach wants no sissies, So he reads to us from something called Ulysses. Now I don't want this should scare ya, But my bunk mate h as malaria. You remember Jeffrey Hardy. They're about to organize a searching party. Take me home, oh Muddah, Fadduh, Take me home, I hate Granada, Don't leave me out here in the forest, where I might get eaten by a bear. Take me home, I promise I will not make noise, Or mess the house with other boys. Oh please don't make me stay, I've been here one whole day. Dearest Fadduh, darling Muddah, How's my precious little Bruddah? Let me come home if you miss me. I would even let Aunt Bertha hug and kis me. Wait a minute, it stopped hailing. Guys are swimming, guys are sailing. Playing baseball, gee that's better. Muddah, Fadduh, kindly disregard this letter! "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" is a novelty song recorded by Allan Sherman. The melody is taken from the ballet Dance of the Hours from the Opera "La Gioconda" by Amilcare Ponchielli, while the lyrics were written by Allan Sherman and Lou Busch. The song won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album in 1963. Memory Recall By Theresa Rossetti, Resident This month's word is shameful, defined as bringing shame, disgraceful, full of the feeling of shame. But perhaps what we considered shameful or embarrassing years ago can be or is now mirthful defined as full of mirth, merry or amusing. I'm sure we all have memories of something that we saw, or did, or heard about that we thought at the time was embarrassing. Maybe it was an incident at school, or just about anything your parents said or did when you were a teen, or just something you wish hadn't happened. As time passes, we probably aren't as shamed as we were back then. Getting older has a way of helping us see the absurd in things. A few weeks ago, I was at an SDV Group meeting in the Craft Room. As is true most of the time, one of the double doors was left open while we were in there. After we discussed the topic of the meeting, we stayed to chat. For some reason, the conversation turned to embarrassing moments. A number of examples were given, each more hilarious than the other. Some were even semi-acted out. Quite frankly, you had to be there to appreciate how funny these stories were. While it's quite likely that the people involved in each story were mortified when the incident happened (or maybe not!), we all found them extremely funny in the telling. Since the door was open, and we were laughing quite loudly, we attracted a bit of interest from people passing by in the hall. At one point we were joined by someone who frankly admitted they needed a laugh that day and wanted to know what was going on. When told one of the stories, we seemed to cheer that person up and we then were the recipients of a very funny tale from them. And no, I won't tell you any of the stories, those who were there know! The moral of the story is that laughter really can lighten a person's load and is worthy of the saying "Laughter is the best medicine." According to the Mayo Clinic, laughter is a stress reliever, enhancing our intake of oxygen-rich air and increasing the endorphins released from our brain. So, go ahead and watch a slapstick comedy or share with friends some funny things that have happened to you. You'll be happy you did. A Ye Of "Ful"

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