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Old 06-19-2018, 11:02 AM
HARDCORE HARDCORE is offline
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Thumbs up The Ongoing Adventures Of Miniver Cheevy

6-19-2018


Nearly everyone has heard stories about those magical and mythical folks that legend claims inhabited The Mystical Realms of Ancient Earth! “But what if not all that you were taught was truly fantasy and make believe?”

In short, what if there once were strange beings and omnipotent creatures that dwarfed even the most fertile imaginations of mankind? Creatures and happenings (good and bad alike), that even organized religion and ancient lore itself feared to mention or acknowledge, until eventually, they too were all but lost in a world that prides itself totally upon science alone, along with what many now mistakenly believe to be “The Absolute Truth?”

“Maybe there really are more things in heaven and earth than man has ever dreamed?!”

Are we human beings really as sophisticated and all-knowing as some of those whom we have set up as our world leaders, along with those icons of science, would have us all believe? Or could it be that, as living creatures go, we too have not as yet even begun to scratch away even at the surface patina? And if this truly is a fact, then maybe we too are indeed but dangerous, and often faulty, “Babes in The Wood!”

This was also the case with one “Miniver Cheevy (A fictional narrative poem of 1910 by Edwin Arlington Robinson)!” A strange name, as names go, but as the poet once said: “What after all, is in a name, save for the name itself?” And what is now considered to be common place, may have (in times past), also been strange and unusual? “But like most things today, much of what we now encounter is indeed overly used, almost to the point of nausea!”

“So who was this Miniver Cheevy Character, and for that matter, who are any of us really, save for a repetitive conglomeration of memories, experiences, or even fantasies and lies?”

But for the sake of this harangue however, we will describe this character as a combination of good and bad, self-promoter and even daydreamer! But most of all (and like most of us today), he too is a creature of naive thinking who, like most of us, was going to set the world on fire, until that is, he too came to the realization that talk alone, rarely (if ever), gets the job done!

“And it is at this point in our lives, that a flaming reality also begins to set in (opinion)!”

We either then become a part of the problems that have plagued mankind since his ancient ancestors first scampered forth from the primordial ooze, or we can at least try to contribute (even in a minuscule way) to the overall advancement of this - the human race and our nation?

“Not merely the facade of prominence alone, mind you, but rather, a genuine attempt at leaving this nation of ours just a little bit better off for your having been here, as no man (no matter how wanting or lofty), is an island, nor does he live forever, and this, even if at the time, our contributions and dedication may go unrecognized?

And worst yet, and as is so often is the case within certain elements of international politics and society, a few of those with limitless ambition, lofty personal appetites, and even problematic abilities, now seek to bully and control the entirety of The Human Race!

“And if these people, and even entire nations, really become proficient enough at spinning a good yarn, who knows, maybe someday, they too can transform themselves into yet another “World-Class Miniver Cheevy?”

Hardcore
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Miniver Cheevy

"Miniver Cheevy" is a narrative poem written by Edwin Arlington Robinson and first published in The Town down the River in 1910.[1] The poem, written in quatrains of iambic tetrameter for three lines, followed by a catalectic line of only three iambs, relates the story of a hopeless romantic who spends his days thinking about what might have been if only he had been born earlier in time.

Some scholars have suggested that the character of Miniver is meant to be Robinson's self-aware skewering of his own sense of being an anachronism or throwback, but others have indicated that, while this may be true, Miniver also represents a critique of Robinson's culture in general.[2] Regardless, the character portrait is similar to Robinson's Richard Cory in its presentation of a deeply discontented individual who is unable to integrate with society and is bent on self-destruction, albeit at different paces.[3] Robinson's preoccupation with these sorts of characters is one of the reasons why some have dubbed him "America's poet laureate of unhappiness."[4]

Reference in popular culture

• In Woody Allen's 2011 film Midnight in Paris, the lead character Gil is compared to Miniver Cheevy by a condescending friend of his fiancee.
• In Joseph Heller's Catch-22, Major Major Major Major is also compared with Miniver Cheevy because of his late birth.
• Helene Hanff compared herself to Miniver Cheevy in her 1970 book 84, Charing Cross Road.
• In The Gourds' song "All The Labor", one of the characters is referred to as a "fun lovin' Miniver Cheevy". [5]
• In Anne Rice's novel "The Wolf Gift", (published 2012) reference is made to the hero Reuben's father - "His private nickname for himself was "Miniver Cheevy"."
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Miniver Cheevy

Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn,
Grew lean while he assailed the seasons;
He wept that he was ever born,
And he had reasons.

Miniver loved the days of old
When swords were bright and steeds were prancing;
The vision of a warrior bold
Would set him dancing.

Miniver sighed for what was not,
And dreamed, and rested from his labors;
He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot,
And Priam's neighbors.

Miniver mourned the ripe renown
That made so many a name so fragrant;
He mourned Romance, now on the town,
And Art, a vagrant.

Miniver loved the Medici,
Albeit he had never seen one;
He would have sinned incessantly
Could he have been one.

Miniver cursed the commonplace
And eyed a khaki suit with loathing;
He missed the medieval grace
Of iron clothing.

Miniver scorned the gold he sought,
But sore annoyed was he without it;
Miniver thought, and thought, and thought,
And thought about it.

Miniver Cheevy, born too late,
Scratched his head and kept on thinking;
Miniver coughed, and called it fate,
And kept on drinking.
__________________
"MOST PEOPLE DO NOT LACK THE STRENGTH, THEY MERELY LACK THE WILL!" (Victor Hugo)
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