December 11, 2007
I laughed out loud when I found on my computer, a document dated July 13, 2002. It contained nothing more than a silly parody of Team Rocket’s motto. If you are familiar at all with Pokémon, you will know about (and have probably memorized) Team Rocket’s motto. For everyone else (or for a quick refresher), Jessie and James made up Team Rocket (at least in the early episodes), and they were accompanied by a Meowth that could speak human language. Their motto was frequently modified and later changed, but originally it went like this:
Prepare for trouble!
And make it double!
To protect the world from devastation!
To unite all peoples within our nation!
To denounce the evils of truth and love!
To extend our reach to the stars above!
Jessie!
James!
Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!
Surrender now, or prepare to fight!
Meowth! That’s right!
OK? Well, here goes. Our version went like this:
Prepare for laughter!
That’s what we’re after!
To affect the world with jubilation!
To excite all peoples in every nation!
To announce the goodness of truth and love!
To extend our reach to the stars above!
Charlie!
Wendi!
Joe!
Team Oo, blast off at the speed of light!
Surrender now, or prepare to laugh all night!
Umma-Mumma-Mum! That isn’t right!
I ask you: which is more bizarre? Beats me, but I suspect the latter.
You’ve heard of “Mamma Mia,” right? Well, what would an Italian Ummamum say? How about “Umma-Mumma-Mia”?
Or what about the latest Christmas carol, “The Little Ummer Boy”…
“Come, they told me, umm-umma-mum-umm…”
Wendi and I are still doing the Ummamum kiss, even after six years of it… only now if you get kissed like that, you are turned into an Ummamum yourself, which means you have to talk with your front teeth sticking out until you receive a normal kiss to fix it!
(We have since given this up. My recommendation: Don’t do it; it’s gross.)
And then there are the Ummamum cats and dogs: have you ever tried to meow or bark with your front teeth sticking out? You can even try adding a little “mmm” or “hmm” after it; that makes it sound even weirder.