Yankee Doodle went to town
A-riding on a pony,
Stuck a feather in his cap
And called it macaroni’.
Yankee Doodle keep it up,
Yankee Doodle dandy,
Mind the music and the step,
And with the girls be handy.
What’s a Yankee Doodle you ask? If you have to ask you’re not one! If you have to ask, you might be a communist (pre-Isis/Jihad American hate group). I’ll tell you what a Yankee Doodle is, not because I should have to, but because I have 1,200 words to fill.
A Yankee Doodle is a patriot; someone proud to be an American. A Yankee Doodle can be any race, religion or ethnicity, but they must bleed red, white and blue, and damn it—that’s me! When you drop a Yankee Doodle on someone they instinctively think of the song. The earliest known version of the Yankee Doodle song lyrics dates back to somewhere between 1755 and1758. It was a big hit on i-Tunes—the pre-Revolutionary War playlist.
The song, Yankee Doodle Dandy, gained popularity when the Union soldiers sang it while marching during the Civil War. The confederate soldiers were probably belting out Sweet Home Alabama. Post war, it became a unifying tune throughout the country. Although the term became a call for national unity, today’s “Y Doodles” are equally proud to be from a state as great as California.
Taking it one step further, we now have more regional Dandies inherently proud to be a Danvillian or an Alamoian, a San Ramonian or a Walnut Creekian. Are you picking up what I’m laying down? 2015 Yankee Doodles rocks their allegiance to country, state, city and community. They raise their flag for the good old USA, the Golden State and home region such as The Tri Valley, Blackhawk, Diablo, Rossmoor, Lamorinda, etc.
If you’re ever read one of my articles in this magazine, and I’m confident at least six people have, you know I don’t share my views on politics, religion, other species or extraterrestrials. Just for the record, they exist. I’ve seen them. Being a Yankee Doodle is more of a patriotic life choice than a club affiliation. It’s a swagger we embrace because we know, for all our nation/state or town’s flaws, compared to the rest of the world, there’ no better place to live on planet earth than where we are today!
The list of Yankee Doodles is long and esteemed. John Wayne was a Yankee Doodle. Ronald Reagan, Amelia Earhart and Dick Clark…all Yankee Doodles. I know Walt Disney was a Yankee Doodle because I once saw Jiminy Cricket dressed up for Forth of July in Uncle Sam attire. That little bug sure could sing and dance. Bruce Springsteen is a Doodle along with Joe Montana, Harrison Ford and… I could name hundreds, maybe thousands of men and women who doodle themselves. Wait, that came out wrong.
The following is a sampling of just a few whom I considered to be Yankee Doodlers. In addition to me and my cousin Ben, the list includes Neil Armstrong, Chris Kyle, Jimmy Fallon, Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey, Clint Eastwood, Sandra Bullock, Hulk Hogan, Toby Keith, Jon Stewart, Charlie Brown and Snoopy, the entire Curry family (Steph, Ayesha, Del, hot Sonya and adorable little Riley), Bob Costas, John Grisham, Chris Rock, Kid Rock, Duane “The Rock” Johnson, Danica Patrick, Rudolf Giuliani, Captain America, Captain Crunch, Howard Stern, Eric Johnson and Beyonce.
A Yankee Doodle is a Patriotic person. Fiona D., age 11
A Yankee Doodle is a rag in the shape of a swirl hat. Brandon C., age 6 ½
A Yankee Doodle is some kind of noodle food. Jessica C., age 8
A Yankee Doodle is a cartoon character macaroni guy. Hannah O., age 10
A Yankee Doodle is a lady wearing a hat with feathers riding a horse down a dirt road. Taylor O. age 8
A Yankee Doodle is a person who traded stuff with other people and became rich. Jake A., age 10
A Yankee Doodle is a cowboy who invents stuff. Trevor R., age 9
A Yankee Doodle is someone who can’t do what they’re trying to do. Harper C., age almost 5.
A Yankee Doodle is a yellow pony who eats macaroni. Megan L., age 4 1/2
A Yankee Doodle is an old time baseball player with the New York Yankees. Brady L., age 7 ½.
A Yankee Doodle is a noodle dinner with sauce that kids like to eat. Reese M., age 6
A Yankee Doodle is a song you sing on the Fourth of July. Regan D., age 7
Some politicians are Doodles, but not all of them. Some politicians are just plain tools. I think it’s safe to say that Olympic athletes are Yankee Doodles along with anyone in the military. Just for the record, we owe anyone in the military and our military veterans (along with their families) our full YD respect and admiration. OOH-RA!
Back in the 1940s, or was it the 1840s?…doesn’t matter, James “Jimmy” Cagney stared in an American biographical musical movie about the life of George M. Cohen called Yankee Doodle Dandy. I don’t know if Cagney was a Yankee Doodle in real life, because he’s dead, but my wife’s aunt Peggy says Cagney was “The cat’s pajamas.” That could be old people speak for Yankee Doodle? I don’t really speak old people. I speak mid-life crisis. Unless I’m mistaken, it was Cagney who had the famous line, “You dirty rat!” That’s kind of Doodle and gangster.
Lately, I’ve been binge-watching House of Cards and The West Wing on Netflix to amp up my Yankee Doodle political knowledge. I also recently caught a Netflix showing of the movie Independence Day.That’s a fun way tototally geek-out your Americana patriotism. My Yankee Doodle pride will be on full display this Fourth of July and every day after that from here to eternity, because that’s how I roll. Doodle on my brothers and sisters. Doodle on!
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