Jan's trivia

Our weekly trivia game at the Burlap Barrel is in trouble. Our wonderful friend who ran the game suddenly died at the age of 53. We are trying to keep it going and Jan
was the next caller. Following are a few of the trivia questions which she asked:
What do the initials tips stand for ?
What does anosmia mean?
What is a group of crows called?
What is the name of the only dog breed that cannot bark?
In baseball, what is a ball that hits the foul pole called?
Name 3 European countrries beginning with the letter A,
Poor Jan, she was criticized by some of the players who thought her questions were too hard. She vows to never call again.

MOTHER NATURE

You can imagine my surprise when I observed a female ( Nameless to protect the Innocent ) in a state ( to put it as politely as possible ) of dishabille dancing about on
my back lawn. She purportedly was doing a rain dance. This was two weeks ago.
Since then it has rained continuously every day for the last two weeks. The stressed trees and flowers have picked up and even the lawn has greened up. The weeds are also thriving. This marks the end of the drought which has afflicted us all summer long.
Not only Houston, but the rest of the state is also being drenched with flash floods
and mud slides everywhere, much too late for the ruined agriculture but at least
replenishing the lakes and aquifers.
But enough about the weather. I would much rather mention the great honor bestowed upon our leader, Barak Hussien O'Bama. THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.
He now joins the ranks of such luminaries as Yasar Arafat, Jimmy Carter, and Al Gore.
How proud we must all feel.

SEOND CHILDHOOD?

Now that I am completely cured of my recent prolonged and horrid malady my
brain, now relieved of the stress of infirmity, has taken a peculiar turn. I awoke this
morning with " Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to see such sport and the dish ran away with the spoon "
This little nursery rhyme has lain dormant in my mind for perhaps 78 years.
Later in the day another of these things popped up. "A froggy would awooing go"
but the rest eluded me. Has anyone ever heard this one?
"Said the monkey to the owl, what'll you have to drink ? Said the owl to the monkey, I'll have a bottle of ink.' There must be more to it than that.
Another diddle diddle one- "Diddle diddle dumpling mice and John( or my son John) went to bed with his stockings on"
Do all these early memories indicate a second childhood ? They were certainly buried deeply in my memory and I wonder why they came pouring out now.