It was some time in the early 1970s when my brother and his friend rolled into Latin class late.
“Ubi fuisti, Court and Charles?”
Where have you been? This Latin phrase has stuck with me all these years later. Probably because it was referred to every now and then at the dinner table as a comic scenario. Of course, my brother was admitting his tardiness to our parents, wasn’t he?
Edith Shanks, senior high school Latin teacher. Fondly referred to as “Edithacus Shankus.” I can just see her now at her desk, peering over her Latin III textbook with the singular and plural endings of the third declension written in chalk on the board behind her.
“Ubi fuisti?”
Well, Miss Shanks, with respectful acknowledgment to my past Latin teachers (Mabel Marmion, Cuthbert Lamb, and Robin Breeden), and apologies to the late, great Johnny Cash, here is where I have been:
I’ve been to:
Albuquerque, Atlanta, Albany, Amsterdam, Farmville, Nashville, Knoxville, Seville, Virginia Beach, St. Pete Beach, Myrtle Beach, Any Beach, New York, New Orleans, New England, New Jersey!
Edithacus Shankus, if you were here today, “Ubi fuisti?” is what I’d say!
I’ve been to:
Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Washington, Pittsburgh, Lynchburg, Blacksburg, Salzburg, Tikal, Cortona, Montepulciano, Montreal, Rochester, Richmond, Rome, Roanoke!
Edithacus Shankus, if you were here today, “Ubi fuisti?” is what I’d say!
I’ve been to:
Pisa, Memphis, Tuscaloosa, St. Louis, Pawleys Island, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, London, Paris, Lisbon, Brussels, Copenhagen, San Fran, Antwerp, Amsterdam (not on the lam)!
Syracuse, Savannah, Siena, San Diego, L.A., Key West, Williamsburg, Orlando, Miami, Flores, High Point, Venice, Georgetown, Mobile, Denver, Dallas!
Milan, Belize, Portland, Nashua, Staunton, Fairfax, Toronto, Columbia, Raleigh, Norfolk, Fort Worth, San Antone, Baltimore, Florence, Macon, Philadelphia!
Hartford, Asheville, Houston, Martinsville, Danville, Charlottesville, Louisville, Charleston, Boulder, Munich, San Juan, Nassau, Port of Spain, Mons, Harrisburg, Orvieto!
Edithacus Shankus, if you were here today, “Ubi fuisti?” is what I’d say!
And to all of you, with all the places you’ve been to:
“Ubi fuisti?” is what I say to you!