Or How To Celebrate Being Alive
Humpty Dumpty about to fall off the wall My daughter, Michelle, called to tell me that she would be present for the 5-Year Observance of My Near-Death Experience and referred to it as my Humpty Dumpty party. That reference was meant as a humorous comparison to Humpty Dumpty falling of the wall and my falling off a ladder nearly killing myself. However, my only long-term medical problem is that I routinely use the speaker-phone when talking on the phone. While I was happy that I was still, I was concerned by my family’s lack of knowledge regarding Humpty Dumpty. After we played the games, I sat my family down before dinner to explain the story behind the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme. Even though the term, Humpty Dumpty, was used in England in the 15th century as a divisive term for a person who was overweight, it was not the basis of the nursery rhyme. Humpty Dumpty was the nickname used for a very large field artillery piece, which saw service during the English Civil War (1642-49).
During the civil war, the Parliamentarians had laid siege of the city of Colchester, which is 50-miles northeast of London. Colchester was a walled-city and was occupied by the Royalists at that time. Next to a section of the wall was St. Mary-at-the-Wall Church. The wall at which the church stood was originally a Roman wall that had been added to and fortified. Atop the wall Humpty Dumpty was positioned very close to the church. The Parliamentarians fired some mortal rounds and blew up St. Mary's, which contained the Royalist's gun powder. In the process of St. Mary's being blown up, Humpty Dumpty was also destroyed by falling off the wall due to the mortars fired by the Parliamentarians. And as the nursery rhyme goes...
Without Humpty Dumpty, the Royalists knew that they would have to surrender and did so on August 28, 1648. Now, I ask you? What does my 5-Year Observance of My Near-Death Experience have to do with the Parliamentarians destroying Humpty Dumpty? At any rate, here are some photos of my Humpty Dumpty party: Egg and Spoon Race
Egg Toss
After the Humpty Dumpty games
The month of May also has 3-family birthdays…again a time to celebrate living.
Visit the "Campbell's Cooking Class" page to read more about this topic.
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