Nov 20, 2010
“Twelve Men Went Fishing” is a noodlehead story about the English village of Gotham, which was supposedly inhabited entirely by fools. But the rumor was not entirely deserved – these “fools”, as is often the case, were much wiser than they appeared. In fact, there is a legend that Gotham got its reputation because once upon a time the king was thinking about building a home there, and the residents didn't like that idea because of all the problems it would cause (probably higher taxes, among other things). So they had a plan: when the king came to scope it out, they all behaved as insanely as they could to discourage him from settling among them. And the ruse worked, but it also earned their town a lasting reputation as one big madhouse.
In any case, this is one of the many amusing stories that have come down to us about the place. Nowadays, we are familiar with Gotham as a nickname for New York City, especially since Batman renamed the Big Apple as Gotham City. There's actually a connection with the old English folktales: Washington Irving, who thought Manhattan was inhabited by fools, nicknamed it Gotham in an issue of his magazine The Salmagundi Papers.
We come to you in North Carolina, on our way to South Carolina, after touring New York and New Jersey. Before which we spent autumn in New England, visiting our son Zephyr in Rhode Island (we interview him on this podcast) and performing at Halloween haunted attractions in Rhode Island and Connecticut. And now, like birds, we're heading south for the winter.
Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Various Gotham Men) and Kimberly (Various Gotham Men, Horseman)
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