[Simon Hunt]

Yep, this one's mine. I feel very fortunate to be selected for this event, let alone to receive votes in it, so many thanks to Aaron and Alex and to everybody who commented above, voted for "Desilu," or otherwise participated in the Bakeoff. I love these events as celebrations of our community here.

Specific replies--

TSDG--Thanks again for choosing me and for your astute reading. I really do say alas all the time, and I'm the speaker here... I do think ILL is crucial American mythology, although, as in the poem, I don't find LB as funny as many do. The Scary Lucy statue, though? That's a riot...

Catherine--Thank you. I'd be curious what you'd do with those feet you don't care for. To my mind, they're important rhetorically in setting up the argument that, yes, the real-life marriage went bad and, anyway, Desi's distinctive laughter shouldn't be audible if he's not on screen--BUT for speaker and his love the viewing experience is uncompromised, indeed enriched. Thanks for the tip on the French phrase, which I'll troubleshoot. It's something I say but may never have written before.

Ron--Thank you.

Jayne--Thanks very much. So you knew it was me? And did you find your keys?

Roger-Thank you. I'm thinking about alas since it drew such comment here. But it's not alas the marriage was bad, but alas we KNOW the marriage went bad which knowledge could undermine our viewing pleasure... Thanks for the links to the scenes, although neither actually DOES have Desi's distinctive laughter. There's a similar phenomenon: Lucy's mother's distinctive laughter is sometimes audible on the soundtrack, and she sometimes says Oh, no! as a plot thickens...

Gail--Thank you. I like the trailer movie, too. It makes a great DIY double bill with Lost in America.

David--Thank you. See above about alas. You're right that it was a workshop edit, but I was pretty happy with it. I'm sorry to have set your teeth on edge but glad to have saved the day (as so often) with my wit and charm and grace. I'm really the David Niven of my generation... Thanks, especially, for your follow-up comments, after Mary, which really showed me that what I wanted to get across was reaching you. You may be interested in what I say to her below...

Julie--Thank you. Go ahead and grumble/whine.

Paddy--Thank you very much.

Dave--Thanks for stopping by.

Susan--Thank you. Point noted about lexicon. I'll just reiterate that I am the speaker and that I really do go around saying alas and mise en scene.

James--Thank you. The line you cite sounds natural to me, but I'm always eager to hear what sounds stilted to a reader. I addressed your concern about eligibility in the voting thread, and others have expressed views as well. For me, these are less contests than community celebrations, so it seems a given to me that the poems developed in the community should be eligible.

Michael--Thank you, but humdrum?! Screw you, Cantor. I got 5th place. No, just kidding. It's always good to have a contrary view, and this was always going to be too quiet a poem and too specific a topic for some readers (not to say that's all you're criticizing). I will say, though, that I wasn't aiming to depict the show's goofiness--but rather a scene of a couple viewing that goofiness.

Mary--Thank you very much. You and David (as well as the TSDG) picked up on what I'm trying to do with the first line and with the two occurrences of "we" later in the poem. It's supposed to be about myself and my wife as well as Lucy and Desi--and would have been even more stylish and Nivenesque as Nancy's anniversary gift this year had it not been three weeks late...

Jennifer--Thank you. I'm not sure I understand your remarks entirely, but I appreciate your take on my poem.

Martin--Thank you for your comments. I'm glad to be seen as competent now and again and also to know that your reading largely matched Michael's. You can see what I said to him above...

Orwn--Thank you. I'm glad you liked it a bit, and I get what you're saying about there not being enough on the speaker's own relationship. You can see David's second comment and Mary's comment for a good sense of what I was trying for in that regard--as well as my responses to them above. The speaker and his love are not supposed to be dropped after line 1, but it's helpful for me to know that it seemed that way to you.

I hope I haven't missed anybody. Thanks again, all!