LA CUCHARACHA
By Delbert Blickenstaff
I asked Louise what she wanted for Christmas and she said “A poem for
me.” So I’ll tell you what I wrote but first I have to tell you a story.
When Louise was born on December 31, 1922 her parents had not picked a
name for this baby, the fifth child in their family. So the attending
doctor wrote “Jane” on the birth certificate. But Louise didn’t know
about that until she went to the Darke County Recorder’s Office and
asked for a copy of her birth certificate. She needed it to get a loan
at the bank for college expenses. There was no Louise Rust, only a Jane
Rust born on December 31st. So she had to go through the process of
getting her name legally changed from Jane to Louise. Now her poem:
Ms. Jane
There was a nice baby called Jane
Who was born without any name.
She learned things with ease
So they named her Louise
And her name still is the same.
One day she married a guy
Named Delbert, and some asked her why.
He was not as tall
As her dad, not at all,
But he sang in a delightful way.
They had a nice family
A girl, and little boys three.
Two became teachers,
And two became docs.
All are happy as any could be.
When Louise asked me what I wanted for Christmas I said whatever she
was knitting at the time. As it turned out she was knitting a serape
using nice warm colors like orange, yellow, and brown. I said that
would be just fine.
I wore my Christmas serape at our family gathering in Cincinnati. Then
I borrowed a Mexican sombrero and a guitar and sang:
La Cucharacha, La
Cucharacha,
Ya no puede caminar.
Porque no tiene, porque le falta,
Marijuana que fumar.
Cha, cha, cha.
Delberto Blickenstaff
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