Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
Your search for ASS returned 115 results.
AUTOGRAPH ON FRIENDSHIP
IN CENTRAL PARK THERE IS A ROCK
AND ON IT SAYS FORGET-ME-NOT.
AND FARTHER ON THERE IS A TREE
AND ON IT'S CARVED REMEMBER ME.
Submitter comment: INFORMANT NOT AWARE OF NAME OR RESIDENCE OF MESSAGE WRITER.
Data entry tech comment: "ITS" CHANGED TO "IT'S"
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; CAMP METAMORA ; METAMORA
Keyword(s): "INDIRECTION" ; CENTRAL PARK ; CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK ASSUMED ; COMMENT ON REMEMBRANCE ; INFORMATIVE ; METER: IAMBS ; QUATRAIN ; REMEMBRANCE ; RHYME: AABB ; RHYME: SLANT
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Autograph Verse Remember me |
AUTOGRAPH BOOK VERSE
WHEN YOUR DAYS ON EARTH ARE ENDED,
AND THE PATH MO MORE YOU TROD,
MAY YOUR NAME IN GOLD BE WRITTEN
IN THE AUTOGRAPH OF GOD.
Submitter comment: LEARNED AT ST. LUKES'S SCHOOL, DETROIT, MICHIGAN
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): ASSONANCE ; DIVINE RECOGNITION ; HEAVENLY AFTERLIFE ; PIOUS ; QUATRAIN ; RELIGION ; SINCERITY ; WISH
James Callow Keyword(s): ANAPESTIC AND IAMBIC METER ; RHYME: ABCB
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Autograph Verse Pious reflection |
Date learned: 09-19-1967
APPRECIATION OF FRIENDS
IT IS EVIDENT THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES,
HOW SWEET AND SOUR OUR LIVES CAN BE.
BUT IF WE COULD LOVE AS WELL AS WE HATE,
WHAT FEW TROUBLES WOULD BE LEFT TO SEE.
FOR JOYS WOULD RESULT WITH NO SORROWS FELT,
THUS LEAVING OUR HEARTS SO EASY TO MELT.
Keyword(s): ADVICE ; ASSONANCE ; CONTRAST ; FREE VERSE ; HATE ; INFORMATIVE ; LOVE ; METAPHOR ; RHYME: ABCBEE ; SERIOUSNESS
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Autograph Verse Tender sentiment |
Date learned: 00-00-1959
THE EYES ARE MUCH REVERED IN LEBANESE CULTURE. PEOPLE OFTEN SWEAR
ON THEIR MOTHER'S EYES, THEIR BABY'S EYES, ETC., TO CONVINCE
PEOPLE THAT THEY ARE TELLING THE TRUTH. MM
LEBANESE PEOPLE ALSO REFER TO THE EYES WHEN PROFESSING GREAT LOVE.
"I LOVE YOU MORE THAN MY EYES," IS A COMMONLY HEARD EXPRESSION.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DEARBORN
James Callow Keyword(s): ASSERVATIONS
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Body part Senses Eyes, evil eye SPEECH -- Formula PROVERB -- Proverbial Comparison |
Date learned: 00001950S
WHEN YOU ARE OLD AND CANNOT SEE
PUT ON YOUR SPECTACLES AND THINK OF ME.
Submitter comment:
MRS. FRANK BALLARD OF WESTERVILLE, OHIO SUBMITTED
THE ABOVE, TAKEN FROM HER 90-YEAR-OLD MOTHER'S
ALBUM, TO THE BUD GUEST "SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET"
PROGRAM. I RECEIVED A CARBON COPY OF THE SCRIPT FROM
WHICH MR. GUEST READ THE ABOVE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): GLASSES
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Autograph Verse Remember me |
Date learned: 00001890S
UP NORTH, NEAR LAPEER, IT IS BELIEVED THAT IF A BESPECTACLED
PERSON COMES INTO A WARM HOUSE WALKING BACKWARDS AFTER BEING
OUT IN THE COLD FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, HIS GLASSES WILL
NOT FOG UP. NO REASON FOR THIS BELIEF IS GIVEN.
Submitter comment:
I HAVE TRIED THIS SEVERAL TIMES, BUT IT HASN'T WORKED.
WHEN MY COUSIN WENT BACK UP NORTH, HE ASKED AROUND ABOUT
THIS, AND FOUND NO REASON WHY THIS SHOULD WORK. HE DID
FIND OUT THAT MOST PEOPLE UP THERE BELIEVED IT. I, BEING
NEARSIGHTED, HAVE FOUND THAT THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE TO
FOGGED GLASSES IS CONTACT LENSES.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; NORTH BRANCH
Keyword(s): GLASSES ; PREVENTIVE MEASURE
| Subject headings: | SPEECH -- Gesture |
Date learned: 11-00-1985
JAIN BUDDHISTS DON'T EAT MEALS AFTER SUNSET FOR FEAR THAT THEY
WILL EAT GERMS AND SIN.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD
Keyword(s): JAIN IS A CLASS OF BUDDHISTS
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Measure of time Eating For menu, see N222. |
Date learned: 00-00-1967
EATING BATTER GIVES YOU BIGGER BOOBS.
Submitter comment: THIS WAS TOLD TO ME BY MY GRANDMOTHER WHEN I WAS MAKING PANCAKES.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; NEW BUFFALO
James Callow Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; BOOBS = BREASTS (ASSUMED)
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Body part Senses |
Date learned: 00-00-1981 ; 10-14-1987
Wearing opals when you are not a Scorpio is only bad
luck if you are single; if you are married they won't
harm you.
Submitter comment:
Jane, a friend of Elinor's, states that wearing an opal if
you are not supposed to interferes in the finding of
a husband. She then told Elinor that she could wear
an opal if she wanted to, since she was married.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD
Keyword(s): horoscope, astrology, spinster, advice, reassurance, gems
James Callow Keyword(s): JEWELRY
Date learned: 00001987ca
It was the custom of young Cuban boys who were trying
to prove their manhood to dive into the waters of Havana
Harbor,near the old prison, and ride the sharks. It was
said that the sharks frequented the harbor because political
prisoners were placed in an underwater dungeon to be eaten
by the sharks.
Submitter comment:
This need to confront death and danger in order to establish
"machismo" is also seen in such activities as bullfighting.
This story was told to Carmen by her father, Gustavo Sebastian
Albore', who was very proud that he had been brave enough to
ride the sharks. Gustavo was proud also of his Castillian
Spanish parents, since in his mind, to be "Cuban"
meant to be black. He always, therefore, referred to himself
as "Castillian" whenever someone asked him his nationality.
Where learned: NEW YORK ; NEW ROCHELLE
Keyword(s): Courage, test, Hispanic, rite-of-passage
| Subject headings: | Favorites CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Entertainment Diversion CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Maturity |
Date learned: 00001930S
"INCHY PINCHY"
This practical joke begins when one person convinces
another (usually a younger/naive) person that they are
going to be initiated into a special group. The "initiate"
is taken into a darkened room, with perhaps only a candle
for a light, and seated on the floor. Others come into the
room (quietly and reverentially) and seat themselves in
a circle, in which the "initiate" is included. (Everyone
but the person who is the target of the joke is a co-conspirator.)
After everyone is seated in a circle, the
leader (seated next to the victim) announces that the
ceremony is about to begin. He instructs the "initiate"
to copy his motions exactly, doing to his neighbor what
is done to him. The leader, then, reaches out and grabs
the victim's cheek and gently pulls on it, saying
solemnly, "Inchy Pinchy." This should be intoned slowly--
"In...chy Pin...chy." The victim pulls the cheek of
the person next to him and does likewise, and the motion is
passed around the circle. Again the leader reaches out
and grabs another part of the victim's face, perhaps the
forehead or nose, and says "Inchy Pinchy." Again the
motion is passed around the circle. This continues as
many times as the leader wants. When the "ritual" is
over, the victim is instructed to look in the mirror to
verify how the ceremony has transformed him. When he
does so, he realizes that each time the leader touched
his face, that he had been smeared with lipstick (or any
other substance that can be concealed in the hand). At the
moment of realization everyone shouts "INCHY PINCHY!"
Submitter comment:
This was a joke I learned at a slumber party when I was
in seventh grade. My older brother and I successfully
played it on my younger brother, Greg, who reminded me
of it when I asked for any possible folklore items,
especially children's songs/games. A copy of a story he
wrote about this experience has been submitted as
supplementary material.
Where learned: OHIO ; COLUMBUS
Keyword(s): Humor, trick, mock rite-of-passage
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Entertainment Diversion CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 00001965CA
" Miss Susie had a tugboat, the tugboat had a bell,
Miss Susie went to heaven, the tugboat went to
Hello operator, please ring me number nine,
And if you disconnect me, I'll kick you right behind
The 'frigerator, there was a piece of glass,
Miss Susie fell upon it, and broke her little
Ask me no more questions, I'll tell you no more lies,
Miss Susie told me all of this,
The day before she died."
Where learned: NEW YORK ; Kenmore
James Callow Keyword(s): ASS ; HELL ; REFRIGERATOR
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Song |
This was an autograph in my mother's yearbook:
"2-4-6-8, Don't make love by the garden gate,
Love is blind, but the neighbors ain't."
Where learned: PENNSYLVANIA
James Callow Keyword(s): Assonantal rhyme
| Subject headings: | 730 Lyrical Verse Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Autograph Verse |
Date learned: 06001958 ca.
Miss Susie had a steamboat. The steamboat had a bell.
Miss Susie went to heaven. The steamboat went to hell(o)
Operator connect me number nine, and if you disconnect me,
I'll kick you right behind the fridgerator, there laid a
piece of glass. Miss Susie fell upon it and broke her
little ass(k) me no more questions. Tell me no more lies.
Miss Susie told me all of this the day before she died
her hair all purple. She died her hair all pink. She died
her hair all polka dots, and washed it down the sink me
in the ocean, sink me in the sea, sink me in the toilet,
but please don't pee on me.
Submitter comment:
Sometimes this song is sung just by school aged children,
and at other times two girls will do an alternating, hand
clapping rhythm with each other.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; HEMLOCK
James Callow Keyword(s): Hello Hell Ass Ask Dyed ; PEE=URINATE
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Ballad Epic Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Children Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Narrative Verse |
Date learned: 00001980S
Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.
If I'm lying may a lizard eat my gizzard.
Submitter comment: Child version of swearing to tell the truth.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; HEMLOCK
James Callow Keyword(s): Asseveration ; FEMININE RHYME
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Lyrical Verse Lyrical Verse |
Date learned: 00001970S
It is my belief that the way a school day begins determines how
the rest of the school day will proceed. For instance if I go to
school one day and in my first hour I receive a corrected test back
with an "F" on it any other test I take or get back that day I will
fail also, regardless of how hard I've studied. This is also true for
days when something good happens to me in school. This belief does
not, however, extend out of school to my social life.
Submitter comment:
I believe this because I've experienced it many times in the
past.
Where learned: MICHIGAN
Keyword(s): pilot class
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- School BELIEF -- Measure of time WeekDayHour |
Date learned: 00001986ca
Why we say "His name is Mud"
The doctor who treated John Wilkes Booth was Dr. Mud. This is
where the saying "his name is Mud" originated. This saying is
widespread and frequently used. An ancestor of Dr. Mud is currently
trying to clear the family name.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; GRAND BLANC
James Callow Keyword(s): Lincoln assassination
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Outlaw Criminal Bandit Pirate SPEECH -- FamilyGroup |
Date learned: 01-00-1991
IN OBERAMERGAUE, GERMANY DURING CHRISTMAS TIME, THEY
HOLD A PASSION PLAY, DEPICTING THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; GERMANY ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): BIRTH OF OUR LORD=CHRISTMAS. ; SOME CONTRADICTION HERE--PASSION PLAY=CRUCIFIXION.
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- December 21 solstice to March 20 Christmas Season See F645.2 for Advent Season. |
Date learned: 12-00-1967
IN OBERAMERGAUE, GERMANY DURING CHRISTMAS TIME, THEY
HOLD A PASSION PLAY, DEPICTING THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; GERMANY ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): BIRTH OF OUR LORD=CHRISTMAS. ; SOME CONTRADICTION HERE--PASSION PLAY=CRUCIFIXION.
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- December 21 solstice to March 20 Christmas Season See F645.2 for Advent Season. |
Date learned: 12-00-1967
IF A DONKEY'S EARS ARE UP, IT WON'T RAIN.
IF A DONKEY'S EARS ARE OUT, IT WILL BE CLOUDY.
IF A DONKEY'S EARS ARE DOWN, IT WILL POUR DOWN.
Where learned: NOT GIVEN
Keyword(s): ASS
Date learned: NOT GIVEN