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Loo loo, skip to the loo!

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by meenasankaran, Mar 25, 2015.

  1. meenasankaran

    meenasankaran Platinum IL'ite

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    It has been one of those roller coaster weeks that make absolutely no sense. Yesterday, I felt the need to ponder on the complexity of the human mind that can delve so deeply into non-existent problems that it can crush the soul with the weight of the world. Today, I woke up to wonder on the meaning of a nursery rhyme that defies all logic.

    Loo loo, skip to the loo
    Loo loo, skip to the loo
    Loo loo, skip to the loo
    Skip to the loo, my darling

    Why, oh why would anyone skip to the loo in the first place? Skipping, in my mind, constitutes an act of youthful energy that expresses sheer happiness. A child may skip to the park after school to play with friends or to a Carnival anticipating cotton candy and Ferris wheel rides. What, my feverish mind wonders today, would prompt a child to bounce and skip to the loo? If you ever catch a child doing that, be sure to take the Mom aside to talk about the importance of fiber in her family's diet.

    Fly's in the buttermilk, shoo fly shoo
    Fly's in the buttermilk shoo fly shoo
    Fly's in the buttermilk, shoo fly shoo
    Skip to the loo, my darling

    Hmmmm.......I am not quite sure how to interpret this really. If my kid finds a fly in her cup of buttermilk I will probably tell her to remove it and drink it up or dump the glass and pour another one but that is just me. There is a Mother somewhere out there that advises her child to happily (otherwise why skip?) take refuge in the loo to tackle this problem? Running away never solves any problem, doesn't she know? You can hide in the loo for as long as you want, but when you get out, the fly is still there floating belly up, right? Like I said, the entire thing defies logic.

    Lost my partner, what'll I do
    Lost my partner, what'll I do
    Lost my partner, what'll I do
    Skip to the loo, my darling

    That is tragic, I agree. Losing a partner can be crippling, I am given to understand. And the loss may induce gastrointestinal turbulence for sure but we are not talking about grown ups, are we? What kind of a partner skipped out on the child - spelling bee partner?, crayon bee partner? or ballet dance partner? Explain to me how skipping to the loo helps them deal with this loss.

    Come on folks, lets get serious here. Do we really want to condone defeatism so blatantly? Should our children grow up believing that running and hiding is the answer to all the problems facing this world? Imagine that one of these kids gets elected as President of the United States in the future. And there he is sitting in on a routine meeting with his senior staff in the Oval office at 7 AM one morning only to be interrupted by the Defense Secretary bearing news that North Korea is threatening to fire its nuclear weapons just for the heck of it. Are we going to sit back and watch our President skip to the Loo on TV? What if he decides to stay there until the crisis passes humanity? You may think it is just a catchy rhyme now but heed my warning. This could have serious ramifications to the future of this world.

    Oh but hold it! Before you jump off the cliff in to an abyss of despair, catch this last verse. It might just bring salvation for the poet of this verse after all.

    I'll get another one just like you
    I'll get another one just like you
    I'll get another one just like you
    Skip to the loo, my darling

    Now, that's the spirit! 'Life goes on so embrace the challenges with a happy face' is what it says and what a great lesson for all. Learning that no one is indispensable can be an invaluable lesson in humility. I believe that teaching our kids that when you step off the train, someone always boards to take your place is as important a lesson as Algebra and Trigonometry.

    On that philosophical note, I thank you for reading this post which barely skirts the edges of sanity and will suggest that you always take my words with a whole bucket of salt. :)

    Now all I have to do is learn to skip without pulling a muscle. Skip to the loo, my friends and you shall find answers to all your problems in there.
     
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  2. jayasala42

    jayasala42 IL Hall of Fame

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    Madam,
    As we studied in Tamil medium we had no chance of listening to or learning English rhymes. Ten years back I heard my grand daughter repeatedly reciting this rhyme in her own slang.I took some pains to interpret.
    The scottish word 'loo'seems to mean'lover' one whom you love or one by whom you are being loved.
    When you face some problem, you meet a person whom you can express your grief and he/she may suggest you suitable way to deal with problem.

    Or if you pour your feelings, you may become less emotional and you yourself may be able to take a correct decison being freed from emotional stress.
    Or loo as such - a figurative expression.As one gets completely relieved on going to loo,you may get relieved of your tension and sufferings.

    Or as you have stated 'don't escape from the problem. as you try you may get a solution.
    Normally nursery rhymes are not interpreted in philosophical vein as it is intended for children for whom only words appeal and not the essence.
    Let children happily recite the rhymes right or wrong.with their own funny enjoyable pronunciation. Let us not even try to find the hidden meaning. Let us enjoy the rhymes with kids.

    Jayasala 42
     
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  3. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Meena, dear Meena. This is a nursery rhyme I heard day in and day out when my nephew and niece were growing up. It was mutated by those baby voices to "skip, skip, skip malaloo". Today you have given voice to something that bothered me then, but Alzheimer's and the course of life have taken that question into some long, distant, forgotten past.

    Now talking of why anyone would skip there, Meena, have you ever suffered from a symptom where the loo just does not beckon? If you did, you would know why anyone would "skip" there with joy as soon as the call came! Yes, you are right. Momma needs to be educated about the benefits of a fibre rich diet!

    LOL Meena. I was reminded of the expression "kanjoos makkhichoos" in Hindi. One of my North Indian friend very kindly explained the meaning of this term. He told me that it means one who takes the fly out of the milk, licks up all the milk from the surface and then throws out the fly, so no milk is wasted!

    As for rushing there when you lose a partner, now put yourself in the place of that poor kid whose partner in competition has abandoned him/her. There (s)he is standing in front of an audience when stage fright strikes and there is no partner to share the ignominy of not knowing an answer. What would happen? The autonomic nervous system would make sure that certain nerves to the relevant part would be activated, giving the poor kid a good option of fleeing the scene for a very valid reason. Am sure the audience would support that option too!

    Talking of running away from a situation, I had some bosses who were very nasty and it was extremely stressful having to exchange two normal sentences with them. The best way to avoid them, a place where no one could find one was, well, of course, the L.O.O.
    That was the only place you could have your peace of mind without anyone bothering to follow you in there.

    The version of the last verse I had heard was:

    I'll find another one, a pretty one too,
    I'll find another one, a pretty one too,
    I'll find another one, a pretty one too,
    Skip to my loo my darling!

    Thanks for a lovely one Meena - philosophy so discreetly cloaked in the guise of humour. As Kamalji would put it, only you can do that. :-D
     
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  4. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Meena,

    Here is my interpretation and I hope it makes sense.

    "Activate your brain my child (skipping activates the brain like Super Brain Yoga ("Thoppukarnam")) and take the life easy just like you relieve yourself in a loo. Keep yourself alert so that you can shoo the bad thoughts away. When you lose one, you would find another that matches your thoughts as long as your mind is active and you take life easy.

    I don't see this as a nursery rhyme but consider this as a philosophical lesson for even to the adults. We have to perform actions for which we need to activate our mind and take our life easy. We need to shoo away the desires and attachments. We may lose some people but will gain others if we are active. Life is all about increasing our performance and reducing our expectations. I call that as P/E Ratio of human beings.

    Viswa
     
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  5. Kamla

    Kamla IL Hall of Fame

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    Meena dear! (mind you, said in style of Mona dahling!),

    So I see you are contemplating on a lot of skipping? And skipping to the loo, that too!!

    Well well, I admire that you poured so much of your valuable time and thought researching on the whys and what nots of skipping to the loo. But then, wise friends here have given you their take on why such ditties are composed and preserved all these years. I see that a lot of thinking and contemplating has already gone into it.

    As for me, the one and only reason I would ever skip to the loo would be if one of my feet were hurt and I had no other go! As to finding a philosophical angle to it, you can also consult our GG ji about such things or let me stay in that loo for a longer period! It just may dawn upon me!

    Always a pleasure to read you and congrats as Satchi has nominated this to FP!

    L, Kamla
     
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  6. Akanksha1982

    Akanksha1982 IL Hall of Fame

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    Nice one @meenasankaran hilarious one. @Viswamitra what a great interpretation of the nursery rhyme.
     
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  7. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    I just love the lost my partner bit. People come and go in our lives We lose but we also gain. There is no need to shed tear for losses. . Let us look for future gains.
     
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  8. Kamalji

    Kamalji IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Meena,

    how come i never heard this nursery ryhme eh ! But never mind, if u say it exists then it myust be.

    Now it must be, the writer of the ryhme thinks, that sitting on the loo is lazy, and the person will gain weight, so why not skip while going to the loo, so that u lose some calories?

    HAHA

    Regards

    kamal
     
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  9. Srama

    Srama Finest Post Winner

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    Dear Meena,

    I have heard many people say that they do find answers - I am yet to figure out. I always have a checklist that I need to get to as soon as I can. That said, I do have to tell you that I have seen a lot of kids do that - skip all their way to the loo. They appear happy and why not? Did they not get a break from that boring teacher and classroom for a few minutes and yes, I have often seen kids hold hand in hand and skip to the loo ....till the teacher figures out and new rule comes up. Oh boy! That should tell you how much I am at elementary schools. Seriously I should stop doing that and listen to your philosophical pitch even if I have to take everything in with that pinch oops...bucket of salt! Now what were you talking about? Did I hear you say don't pull a muscle? Is that what all this skipping down to finally? Sane words I must say and I shall remember always....if i ever even try to skip :)
     
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  10. meenasankaran

    meenasankaran Platinum IL'ite

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    You are right Jaya Ma'm. Nursery rhymes are not meant for philosophical discussions. We should simply enjoy them.

    Will you believe me if I tell you I didn't know what got into me when I wrote this? My kid has a term for this state of mine. When I go overboard sometimes, she shakes her head indulgently and says 'Amma, you are in your zone today!' :rotfl
     

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