1 Mother 2 Another

What’s that you say? Don’t
recognize the song? Imagine it to the tune of the opening bars of
the Sesame Street theme song, and you probably will.


For those of you who don’t get the Buckwheat reference in the
title (cultural cretins that you are!), Eddie Murphy did a famous
skit on Saturday Night Live in the early days where he pretended to
be Buckwheat from Li’l Rascals, all grown up and recording an
album of cover tunes. Eddie Murphy sang indecipherable song after
indecipherable song, and it was quite funny trying to figure out
what the actual song was.

I find myself remembering that Buckwheat
skit several times a day, as I strain to de-code Cora’s
current tune so I can help her out. There’s the easy one
– “La la la la la la!” is either the Elmo song or
the La La song from Sesame Street (known to me pre-kids as
“Sing” by the Carpenters, but whatever). But most of
the time it’s a race to see who can figure out the song
first, like a little contest. Maddie usually wins, partly because
she just understands Cora better, and partly because she sings that
way herself sometimes.


Just yesterday Maddie wandered over after listening to Sesame
Street Platinum for the twenty-third straight lunch time in a row
and said, “Mommy, why does Ernie not want to do anything with
Ermet the flea?” I sat there thinking, I can do this without
clues, I know I can!, strained hard, and figured it out. “I
think that you’re talking about when Ernie sings about
visiting the moon, right?” She nodded. Triumphant, I pressed
on. “He’s not singing about Ermet the flea, he’s
saying “None of them permanently.” Then we had a
deep philosophical discussion about why, indeed, no one would want
to live on the moon, however cool it may sound, without friends
around.


Maddie is, in fact, famous for her misunderstood lyrics – we
all still laugh about her vehement insistence that Santa invited
Rudolph to join him one froggy Christmas eve. So I can see
how Cora comes by it honestly, and once she gets a bit easier to
understand it’ll be pretty cute. For now, though, trying to
get “Frosty the Snowman” out of “Crostee pa flow
pan!” is pretty difficult, especially being out of season as
it is.


I’d love to show you some video of my Malapropric crooner,
but every time I flip the camera on she clams up. It’s as if
she senses I’m gathering ammunition for that Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award show.


So in the meantime you’ll have to take my word for it, and
try to catch the live show some time.


She’s here all week. Enjoy the veal.