The Biggest Fool at Fools Hollow

 September 23, 2023

   In 1879, Thomas Jefferson Adair moved to northern Arizona Territory and started a farm near an unnamed lake. 

Daily Whip out: "Thomas Jefferson Adair"

   The locals laughed at him and said only a fool would try and farm there and so it became known as Fools Hollow Lake just north of present day Show Low, Arizona. 

   We had a fine picnic there on Friday on the way home from Greer and as soon as we walked down to the water, Uno jumped right in. 

Fools And Labs Rush In

   Kathy dared me to join him but I told her my foolish days are over, for the most part. Although I must admit in the past few years I have realized how often I played the fool—especially growing up—and didn't even reailize it.

   And, speaking of fools:

The Fool Has Given Us So Many Songs

   "Many people do foolish things that are uncharacteristic of them. Maybe one small step in poor judgement can lead to a bad end. But we wouldn't call these people fools if they hadn't lived their life as one.

   "Ricky Nelson was no fool, he didn't walk around with no socks or feathers in his hair, he had all the right cards. high trump, low trump and all the picture cards. A ballad rockabilly singer with innocence and naivete on the surface, but a great depth beneath. Always at the forefront of new beginnings, improvising his place in the universe. You always knew what to expect.

   "There's lots of songs about fools. Aretha contemplates her place in a chain of fools, Hank Snow wonders how often there is a fool such as he, Paul McCartney contemplates one on the hill, Bobby Bland pities another while the Main Ingredient knows everybody plays one sometimes. The list goes on and on. Frankie Lymon wants to know why they fall in love, Jerry Garcia sang about a ship full of them, Elvis sang about the propensity to rush in where angels fear to tread and Anthony Newley didn't even know what kind of fool he was. And Ricky Nelson took his tuneful bit of self-realization, 'Poor Little Fool' to the top of Billboard's newly created Hot 100 in 1958."

—Bob Dylan, "The Philosophy of Modern Song"

"Well, I'd played this game with other hearts
But I never thought I'd see
The day when someone else would play
Love's foolish game with me
Poor little fool, oh yeah
I was a fool, uh huh"

—Ricky Nelson, "Poor Little Fool"