Yesterday while visiting our elementary school, I taught the First grade class of six year olds. I wanted to review my lesson from the previous week about the changes in our English Mass. I had written on the board the priest's greeting with the new response, "And with your spirit."
So I asked the class before we practiced the new response, what the old response was? A six year old raised his hand, stood up and said, "Et cum spiritu tuo!"
I KID YOU NOT! He actually said that!
Now for a word of explanation. I was actually seeking the answer, "and also with you." But for more than a year now, at all our school Masses aS well as at all our daily and Sunday Masses, we have been saying and singing the Latin response for these greetings. This six year old only remembers "et cum spiritu tuo" from his experience here for more than a year! He really thinks as do all of the first graders that "et cum spiritu tuo" is our old response. Of course they are right but not as most of us in our 50's would think.
With that said, today is the 50th anniversary of the first Flintstone's cartoon which was aired on Friday's in prime time beginning on this day and date on October 1, 1960! And yes, I was a six year old, but in the second grade, the child prodigy that I was and yes the priest prodigy that I am now!, and yes I loved and still love the Flintstones. I saw that first episode and every subsequent episode and loved most the season when for the first time in cartoon history a character, Wlima, got pregnant, carried her child to term and the TV viewers could submit names for what the child would be named. The person who submitted "Pebbles" won!
Listen to the theme song. For most of my life I could not actually understand the line, "Let's ride with the family down the street through the courtesy of ....? This was somewhat garbled. Listen to the song and I'll have what was garbled written below the video:
"Lets ride with the family down the street through the courtesy of Fred's two feet!" Who would have thought!
4 comments:
Yabba Dabba Do!!!!
ohhhh Fr you really are a hoot! Do you think this generation would understand this word?
I am so glad to have discovered your blog! It's wonderful and the more I read the more you give us glimpses of who Fr Allan McDonald really is!
The reminds me of the story of the religious (though not religiouly dressed) RE director who walked into the children's choir rehearsal one afternoon, and was seemingly outraged that they were practising Kyrie Eleison (in Greek)."Why", she said to their choir director, "these little children have no idea what it means!" Turning triumphantly to a little boy on the first row, she asked him if he knew. Yes, Sister, he replied, it means "Misere, Domine." Sister turned without a word and stomped out.
Henry, that story is tops!
anon @ 7:44
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