Saturday Wordzzle

Go over to Raven's Nest and see how you can join us in the weekly Wordzzle. You can find the rules there.



The 10 words are: spaghetti, larkspur, Prilosec, roaring lion, adamant, green green grass of home, paradox, filibuster, face cream, trout fishing.



Here are the 5 words: jury of one's peers, barking dog, a wing and a prayer, liver, sprained ankle.



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Rep. Jimmy Joe Larkspur, (D) of Paradox, Arkansas, was one of the longest-serving members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and far and away its most colorful. He was known for his use of the filibuster at every opportunity, because he loved the sound of his own voice. Part of his filibusters always included him singing to his audience.

Just last year, he had to appear before a jury of his peers because his neighbor sued him. The neighbor claimed that Jimmy Joe’s barking dog startled him as he passed by, and he suffered a sprained ankle trying to get away from it. Jimmy Joe defended himself, and his dog, He said the neighbor was counting on “A Wing and a Prayer” to help him win his case. At that time, he started singing the song of the same name, and the jury joined in, and then acquitted him and his dog of any negligence.

His constituents loved him because he managed to include an astonishing amount of “pork” for his beloved home state, in the bills he championed. Currently, he was adamant in his determination to filibuster until he got a bill passed federalizing Roaring Lion State Park, which boasted some of the best trout fishing in the country.

Jimmy Joe was superstitious, so the night before every filibuster, he ate a huge plate of liver and onions and a side of spaghetti because he thought it gave him the energy to talk as long as necessary, and just before he went to bed he took a Prilosec. The next morning, he rubbed face cream into his lips because he though it kept them from getting dry and cracked.

At work, he whistled under his breath as he organized his papers for the filibuster. Finally, it was time for Jimmy Joe to be recognized. “Showtime,” he whispered, as he went to the podium and started to sing, as he did before beginning every filibuster, “The Green, Green Grass of Home.” The rest of the Representatives sat back and got comfortable to watch the show.