Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for January 02, 2019

if Alice can “wink”, she may be able to “whistle”

Dance craze: Floss has been done, so there’s toothpick, toothbrush, electric toothbrush, and that bird that cleans crocodile teeth.

Shucks, I used to whistle thru my nose without even trying.

Whistle Britches, maybe, Alice!

She could conceivably accomplish half of those. Note she didn’t say she needed to play the banjo well or regularly.

I think Alice could start a dance craze.

i’m turning 49 shortly. I’ve accomplished 2 of Alice’s resolutions. I can whistle, and about 40 years ago I rode an elephant at an amusement park located on Boblo Island, midway between Canada and the U.S. Dream big and make your dreams come true Alice.

Yeah Alice, me too.

Play the banjo? But she’ll never be tied down if she does that!

My only meaningful resolution is to bring more snarky.

And my Grannie would have answered

And crowing hens

Are sure to come to

No good ends"

I’ve managed one of those: I saw the Mona Lisa (or La Gioconda as it is also called) at the Louvre in Paris.

I learned to whistle back when I turned 70, it came natural when I bent over…

A banjo isn’t hard to play. It’s tuned to an open major chord, so just put a finger across a fret, and you get different major chords. For the right hand, just strum. There, now you know how to play, just get yourself one

Alice knows all about sowing imagination in the garden of your mind. So many fruits, so little time :) . Petey, shame on you! Go to your room! Though that’s not really punishment, is it?

Whistling is tricky when you’re 4 years old. It took me a couple of months.

I wish she hadn’t put a comma between “see the Mona Lisa” and “win at poker”.

Petey probably is saying the truth. But you should offer Alice some positive inspiration, big brother!