Summary: Insightful observations from the Journal of Hop Sing
Rating: G WC: 445
Venerable Hop Sing has been a mostly silent witness to pivotal Ponderosa events through the years, Cartwright triumphs, tragedies, and misadventures. But he has been taking notes. Here are a few excerpts from his journal, his observations written in Haiku form demonstrating not only his keen insight but also his artistic bent. (And in case you’re wondering, yes, Haiku originated in Japan but has been adopted worldwide by many cultures.)
Can you guess the episodes to which he is referring? Answers are listed below.
Actress playing coy
Later regretting role in
Nefarious plan
A worldly woman
A youth like a moth to flame
Oh, wicked desire!
Mining camp woman
Making fortune in silver
And Mulligan stew
Pa’s leading lady
Gets critical review from
Sons who disapprove
Two young lovers meet
In defiance of fathers
Tragedy ensues
Moonlight mystery
Unusual girl captures
A young man’s fancy
To help a brother
As a friend, sometimes a man
At first must wound him
Drunk man with a gun
Lies dead after a struggle
Twilight is coming
Mild manners and songs
Concealing true intentions
A man seeks revenge
Tempers flare, mud flies
Three brothers caught in mischief
Make woes for father
Revenge and regret
Inevitably meeting
There is no winner
Designing women
Mother and daughter scheming
To win a Cartwright
Unfortunate son
Hostage to a madman with
No means of escape
Ambitious young man
Overshadowed by brothers
Strives to prove his worth
Lending to others
Without security is
A fool’s transaction
A shot gone astray
Strikes a brother by mistake
More trouble follows
Woman with a past
A kiss betraying brother
Who watches unseen
Counting and hoping
Little girl looks for father
Who will not come home
Their father missing
His horse with blood stained saddle
Three sons fear the worst
He knows what he saw
He needs only to prove it
Brother mocks “Yoo-hoo!”
Unexpected gift
Misunderstood intentions
Break hearts young and old
To fall from a roof
Is better than to marry
For less than true love
Answers: A Rose for Lotta, The Julia Bulette Story, The Saga of Annie O’Toole, The Magnificent Adah, The Truckee Strip, Dark Star, The Courtship, Vengeance, The Smiler, Springtime, Broken Ballad, The Lady from Baltimore, The Crucible, The Quest, The Hayburner, My Brother’s Keeper, She Walks in Beauty, The Waiting Game, The Legacy, Hoss and the Leprechauns, Love Me Not, Triangle.
Also, a few general thoughts…
A budding romance
Wilts on the vine and then dies
Because she wore blue?
Don’t trust a brother
When he says “What can go wrong?”
Just know that it will.
Too many house guests
Mean too many chamber pots
For one Chinese cook!
END
