For larrys 80th

Seldum have i made sin sear remarks about ire swell and extrrmely bright pal larry. Readon bean that the world is grnerally in a sad spiral downward on serious ignerce.

So i will sneak into my real thawts of admiration and fondness for the old geezer.

Pleeze subsyitute Larrys personn uh for edward lear in this writing and i thank we may see some of larrys brilliunce...

"How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!"
⁠Who has written such volumes of stuff!
Some think him ill-tempered and queer,
⁠But a few think him pleasant enough.

His mind is concrete and fastidious,
⁠His nose is remarkably big;
His visage is more or less hideous,
⁠His beard it resembles a wig.

He has ears, and two eyes, and ten fingers,
⁠Leastways if you reckon two thumbs;
Long ago he was one of the singers,
⁠But now he is one of the dumbs.

He sits in a beautiful parlour.
⁠With hundreds of books on the wall;
He drinks a great deal of Marsala,
⁠But never gets tipsy at all.

He has many friends, laymen and clerical,
⁠Old Foss is the name of his cat:
His body is perfectly spherical,
⁠He weareth a runcible hat.

When he walks in a waterproof white,
⁠The children run after him so!
Calling out, "He's come out in his night-
⁠gown, that crazy old Englishman, oh!"

He weeps by the side of the ocean,
⁠He weeps on the top of the hill;
He purchases pancakes and lotion,
⁠And chocolate shrimps from the mill.

He reads but he cannot speak Spanish,
⁠He cannot abide ginger-beer:
Ere the days of his pilgrimage vanish,
⁠How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!


https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Nonsense/By_Way_of_Preface