Wordplay 5/31

One of my very favorite things about Hannah:  her ability to make puns.

We are a family that uses word play, and I never really thought about the skill and comprehension required to make nuanced puns.

In the early years of our marriage James was in the Navy, and his ship was stationed in Alameda, CA.  Kate was a baby/toddler.   We often visited the Oakland Zoo.   She loved the carousel at the zoo.    At 12 months old she'd straddle one of the painted horses that went galloped up and down as the carousel spun around.  She'd say, "Uhhhhhhp" and "Dowwwwwn".   After a few months she was saying "Up down Foosie (horsey)!!!!"   The phrase stuck, and we still will call carousel horses "UpDownFoosies"

Last fall Hannah and I went on a giant field trip to California and New Mexico.  We were in Oakland, visiting my godparents (Hi Clara and Ev!! We miss you!).   They took us to the Oakland Zoo.   As we approached the area of the kiddie rides, I told Hannah the story about how baby Kate and I visited this same zoo.  I explained that we were going to see the original UpDownFoosies. The unseen carousel was nearby--we could hear the calliope music. 

As we turned the bend, we were disappointed to see that the carousel was closed.  But then Hannah looked at another one of the rides--the kind that had cars for little children in which to sit and go in circles, like this:

Without missing a beat she said, "Mom, it's not a carousel.  It's a 'CAR-a-sell'."

This, I love.