Mary Poppins arriving at No. 17 Cherry Tree Lane
My schedule was completely reshuffled this afternoon because my grandmother and four-year-old niece stopped by for a wonderful surprise visit. During the conversation, it came up that Ellie had never seen Mary Poppins. Completely unacceptable! We cancelled everything else for the day, bought it on Apple TV, made English tea with sugar and milk (though, she ended up opting for grape juice in a giant, sparkly champagne glass), and spent a few hours in the home of the Banks family at No. 17 Cherry Tree Lane. The mess in France, the replatforming of the online businesses, and the rest can all wait. This is far more important.
I forgot how good the music is. For the past hour, I’ve walked around singing:
I feel a surge of deep satisfaction
Much as a king astride his noble steed
When I return from daily strife to hearth and wife
How pleasant is the life I lead
I run my home precisely on schedule
At six-o-one I march through my door
My slippers sherry and pipe are due at six-o-two
Consistent is the life I lead
It’s grand to be an Englishman in 1910
King Edward’s on the throne, it’s the age of men
I’m the lord of my castle, the sovereign, the liege
I treat my subjects â servants, children, wife â
With a firm but gentle hand: noblesse oblige
It’s six-o-three and the heirs to my dominion
Are scrubbed and tubbed and adequately fed
And so I’ll pat them on the head and send them off to bed
Ah lordly is the life I lead
And how Mary Poppins cunningly convinces Mr. Banks to spend more time with his children, while clearly patronizing him about the ridiculous notion that children should be as enthused about bank profits as he is when he hasn’t even taken the time to be part of their lives? Genius.
And who else has songs about compounding, while simultaneously teaching you that money isn’t everything? Only Mary Poppins. Getting dividends, chattel, railways through Africa, and first and second trust deeds into good lyrics is no easy feat.
I’m thinking … now that my day is already changed, should I read, or play a strategy game, update my files on the home renovations, or go back to work? My slippers, sherry, and pipe are due at 6:02 … consistent is the life I lead. Hmm hmm … such good music.
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