November/December 2015 Limerick Laughs Winner and Runners-Up

Dad wobbling on ice skates with son and daughter at each arm

Right now I am seeking assurance
As I start on this test of endurance.
It’s not that I fear
Falling hard on my rear;
It’s worry about my insurance!

—Adele Suga, Vassalboro, Maine

Congratulations to contest-winner Adele Suga! For her limerick describing the George Hughes illustration Ice-skating Class for Dad (above), Adele wins $25 and our gratitude for an entertaining poem. If you’d like to enter the Limerick Laughs Contest for our next issue of The Saturday Evening Post, submit your limerick via our online entry form.

Adele’s limerick wasn’t the only one we liked. Here are some of our other favorite contest entries, in no particular order:

This awkward young dad’s in a bind,
But his teachers are patient and kind.
He’s learning a skill
With a slippery drill
That will yield a most sore behind!

—Rose Hester, Brooklyn, New York

He thought he would gracefully glide;
Instead he did clumsily slide.
With his offspring at hand,
He was able to stand,
So all that he hurt was his pride.

—Carolyn Tourville, Tullahoma, Tennessee

We didn’t just go ’cause we HAD to …
To skate with our Dad, we were GLAD to.
“You kids will do great
Once I teach you to skate!”
But we ended up teaching our DAD to.

Our Dad enjoys making the case
That skating is all about grace:
“It’s rhythmic, poetic,
Refined and aesthetic…”
HEY, DAD JUST FELL FLAT ON HIS FACE!!!

—Guy Pietrobono, Washingtonville, New York

On Wall Street, a respected CO.
On the ice … he just couldn’t go.
With some slides and some slids,
Even help from his kids,
He always ended up in the snow!

—Marlayne Jackson, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania

When it came to outdoorsy-type stuff,
My dad liked things rugged and rough.
But when it was icy,
Things got a bit dicey.
It turned out he wasn’t so tough.

—Neal Levin, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

“That looks so easy,” he cried.
“I got this — shuffle and glide.”
Now Dad’s steering is errant,
His lost balance apparent.
Here comes a THUD to his pride.

—Dan Rogers, Garland, Texas