Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
Friday, September 11th was my birthday — one of those traumatizing, ends-with-zero birthdays. So I told my husband Mark that, unless he wanted me to be a basket case on nine-eleven, he’d better plan something good.
So, did Mark rise to the occasion? He sure did, as I describe in this three-verse limerick:
Happy Birthday To Me
By Madeleine Begun Kane
My nine-one-one birthday was great!
Hubby Mark planned a fabulous date:
God of Carnage — fine play —
Four fab stars on Broadway.
Yes, I married a wonderful mate.
The play featured James Gandolfini,
Who did not play a mafia meanie.
Hope Davis starred too
And Jeff Daniels. Woo Hoo!
Marcia Harden’s the fourth. Creds ain’t teeny.
We dined on gourmet Mex cuisine:
Toloache’s the best I have seen.
And we drank and we danced
At two bars. Age advanced?
Well, perhaps … but I felt sweet sixteen.
(Cross-posted on my political humor blog.)
Tags: Aging, Birthday Celebrations, Birthday Limerick, Broadway Verse, Celebrations Poetry, Dancing, God of Carnage, Hope Davis, Husband Wife Limerick, James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden, Mexican Food, New York City Dining, September Holidays, Theater Poem, Toloache, Yasmina Reza
Posted in Aging Humor & Verse, Holiday Humor, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Marriage Humor, Movie & Play Humor, New York Limericks & Haiku, Night On The Town, Personal, Recreation & Fun Humor, Relationship Humor, Restaurant Reviews & Humor, Theater Reviews | 5 Comments »
Saturday, July 4th, 2009
Happy birthday to The NetWits, a group of Internet humorists launched ten years ago. I’m proud to be one of its founding members.
A Limerick For The NetWits
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A decade ago, way back when,
The NetWits was born. Now it’s ten:
Filled with laugh-loving folks
Posting columns and jokes,
Waxing witty with keyboard and pen.
Tags: Humorists, July Holidays, NetWits
Posted in Authors & Playwrights, Personal, Writing & Publishing Humor | Comments Off on A Limerick For The NetWits
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
Every so often, one of my essays ends up in a college textbook. It’s a delightful honor, of course. But I’m always just a bit freaked out by the thought of someone writing an essay analyzing one of my essays.
My latest textbook appearance is in Laughing Matters, a “comic rhetoric” textbook by Stanford University’s Marvin Diogenes. It’s a great book, and I’m really proud to have a humor column (actually a satirical music lesson contract between parents and child) included in the “forensic rhetoric” section, along with pieces by Chekhov, Benjamin Franklin, and Ian Frazier.
And happily, it’s NOT a what-not-to-do example.
Tags: Comic Rhetoric, Laughing Matters, Marvin Diogenes, Stanford, Textbook
Posted in Authors & Playwrights, Books, Humor Books, Personal | 4 Comments »
Monday, January 5th, 2009
Thanks to all of you for your kind emails, comments, and Twitter tweets about my mother’s death. I really appreciate it!
In my mother’s honor, I’m posting a 1996 humor column she inspired during happier (and funnier) times:
Secret Shopper
By Madeleine Begun Kane
“I’m not going in there. No way. Forget it.”
My seventy-something mother’s stance was as rigid as her words; arms folded across her chest, unyielding legs pointed away from the shop I’d just suggested.
She and I had spent the entire afternoon combing through three department stores for the definitive pair of panties. Or at least my mom’s idea of same. This illusive undergarment had to be loose, comfortable, 100% cotton, and totally devoid of lace. And that was just for starters. It also had to completely cover my mother’s hips and come in a large size, the exact number of which she resolutely refused to disclose. … (Secret Shopper is continued here.)
Tags: Clothes Shopping, Clothing, Department Stores, Fashion, Mothers, Parents, Style, Undergarments, Victoria's Secret
Posted in Family & Relatives Humor, Humor Columns & Humorous Essays, Mothers & Fathers Humor, Personal, Relationship Humor, Shopping Humor | 2 Comments »
Thursday, January 1st, 2009
2008 was a very difficult year for me and for my family. My father died in January, and my mother died on December 30th and is being buried tomorrow.
Rest in peace, mom. I hope you and dad are together again.
I love you both and miss the two of you more than my words can express.
Beatrice Begun (1925-2008)
Tags: Death, Father, Mother, Obit, Parents
Posted in Personal | 10 Comments »
Monday, January 21st, 2008
I just got word that my father has died. He was a wonderful man, and I’ll really miss him. I love you Dad!
Ernest Begun (1915-2008)
Update: Thanks so much to everyone who posted and emailed such kind comments on my father’s passing. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Here’s the somewhat unorthodox eulogy I read at my father’s funeral:
My father, who was very into politics, always enjoyed my political limericks. I’d like to think he’d also enjoy this limerick about him:
My dad, known as Ernest Begun
Will be missed by his wife and his son,
And his daughter, of course,
Cause our dad was the source
Of much joy and support and, yes, fun.
Posted in Personal | 19 Comments »
Monday, June 4th, 2007
My wonderful husband Mark and I are celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary today. Happy anniversary Mark! This limerick is my gift to you. (How’s that for getting off cheap?)
Chance Meeting (Wedding Anniversary Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Our encounter took place on a train—
A chance meeting, though far from mundane:
A lucky converging,
With love soon emerging—
Once strangers, now wedded-bliss twain.
Tags: Chance Meeting, Husband Wife Limerick, LIRR, Long Island Rail Road, Love Limerick, Marriage Limerick, Train, Wedded Bliss, Wedding Anniversary Limerick
Posted in Celebrations Poetry, Commuting Verse, Family & Relatives Humor, Limericks, Marriage Humor, Personal | 34 Comments »
