Leap Day

Today reminded me that Frank and I attended a local performance of the Pirates of Penzance last month, on January 16th. Most folks are familiar to some extent with the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera. A young man, Frederic, reaches the age of 21 and wants to be released from his indentured term to a group of pirates. His obligation to their service was initiated when he was a young boy due to a mistake by his nanny who was supposed to indenture him in training to a pilot. See her error?  Pi-lot versus Pi-rot? Two thirds of a pun – PU. I know. Just go with it.

But why post about this on Leap Day? Because the pirate in the play poster is leaping? No. Because of the paradox, the paradox, a most ingenious paradox. I cannot get that song out of my head today. The irony of Leap Day catches up with Frederic and thwarts his noble desires to break free of the pirates. I looked up the lyrics to that catchy tune and posted some of them below. You can listen to the amusing ditty in its entirety on YouTube.

Chorus

A paradox, a paradox,

A most ingenious paradox.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,

This paradox.

Pirate King Verse (intoning like you would hear at a church service)

For some ridiculous reason, to which, however, I’ve no desire to be disloyal,

Some person in authority, I don’t know who, very likely the Astronomer Royal,

Has decided that, although for such a beastly month as February,

twenty-eight days as a rule are plenty,

One year in every four his days shall be reckoned as nine and twenty.

Through some singular coincidence – I shouldn’t be surprised if it were owing to the agency of an ill-natured fairy –

You are the victim of this clumsy arrangement, having been born in leap-year, on the twenty-ninth of February;

And so, by a simple arithmetical process, you’ll easily discover,

That though you’ve lived twenty-one years, yet, if we go by birthdays,

you’re only five, and a little bit over!

The comic opera is a friendly romp and the clever lyrics make the show. A lot of ribald physical comedy was there, too. Like the majority of the audience, Frank and I were quite engaged by the fast paced tongue twister lyrics of the major general song. In case you were always going to look those words up – some day – and perhaps even memorize them – some day – well, here they are. At least the first third or so. Wikipedia has the full lyrics.

Major-General
I am the very model of a modern Major-General,
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;
I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,
About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.
I'm very good at integral and differential calculus;
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous:
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

The show entertained. Some of the sopranos had high beautiful voices, crystal clear and as melodious as a bell. One or two however, although succeeding in attaining notes in the high operatic octave, had voices that could shatter crystal or at least pierce a few eardrums. Even that was cause for a bit of merry consternation. The performers, too, seemed to be enjoying the show and did not take themselves too seriously. It was a fun night out, close to home, reasonable priced, at a light comical opera where one could suspend disbelief. That's not a bad experience. We aim to repeat it oftener than once every four years.