"How does a presidential fun fact heal political fatigue?" I like to imagine you asking. (I often imagine you, dear reader. Sometimes you ask me engaging questions like the aforementioned one. Sometimes you simply read my interblahg in the nude while sharing a pint of ice cream with your cat, Hiram Ulysses. You're a bit odd at times.)
Though there are several ways in which presidential fun facts heal political fatigue, I don't feel obligated to provide any. I am feeling vaguely lazy. And my croissant won't eat itself. Or at least I hope it won't. But I digress.
Fun fact: Every member of Theodore Roosevelt's family owned a pair of stilts.
 |
| Teddy: unaware of the inevitable stilt based disappointment his future held. |
I have seen the familial stilt ownership explained by TR's children, who evidently loved to have adventuresome playtime. I assume that Teddy and his lovely wife, Edith Kermit (yes, Kermit) Carrow, were simply practicing for the circus.
I like to believe that Theodore hoped to join the circus for much of his life, which is why he cultivated such a fine mustache. During his presidency, Theodore stayed in training, ever hopeful that upon his retirement from politics, Barnum and Bailey's Circus would find a place for the routine he and Edith had perfected: Theodore and Edith's Stilted Waltz. It was a beautiful, lilting dance, but by the time the Roosevelt administration came to an end, ragtime music was at the height of its popularity. Circuses had no place for the act. Dejected, Theodore destroyed all photographic evidence of the routine and threw his own stilts into the Potomac.
Of course I have no proof that any of that is true, but isn't it pretty to think so? And I have not come across any other explanations for Theodore's stilt possession. Or his mustache...
No comments:
Post a Comment