An old, humorous poem about hard work and dedication ends with the
"punch lines", "...But the man who's worthwhile is the man who can
smile when his shorts creep up in a knot."  What is the title, and
where an I find the entire text, free, on the Internet?

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Request for Question Clarification by rainbow-ga on 09 Jan 2004 14:12 PST

Hi dbc,

I have found different variations of the poem (although what I found
is more of a quote). The closest one to the one you are looking for
goes like this:

"Its easy to grin when your ship comes in
and you've got the stock market beat
but the man worthwhile is the man who can smile
when his shorts are too tight in the seat."

If this is indeed the one who are looking for, let me know and I will
post it as an answer.

Regards,
rainbow~

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Clarification of Question by dbc-ga on 12 Jan 2004 07:33 PST

In answer to your question, this is very close.  There must be an
older version of the quatrain, ending as I indicated.  If you can find
that, I'd prefer it.  Thanks!

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Request for Question Clarification by rainbow-ga on 12 Jan 2004 10:26 PST

Hi dbc,
The only reference I could find of the one you are looking for is as a
"favorite quote" by a member of a Yahoo Group. However, there is no
mention of the source of the quote.

Favorite Quote 
"It's easy to grin when your ship has come in, if its just a small
boat or a yacht. But one thats worth while is one who can smile when
his shorts creep up in a knot."

http://profiles.yahoo.com/bullticky

Regards,
rainbow~

---

Clarification of Question by dbc-ga on 12 Jan 2004 11:06 PST

Close enough!  Thank you.  I'll accept that response.

---

Clarification of Question by dbc-ga on 12 Jan 2004 11:08 PST

I accept your second finding.  Thank you.

Hi dbc,

Thank you for accepting the information I have provided as an answer
to your question.


"It's easy to grin when your ship has come in, if its just a small
boat or a yacht. But one thats worth while is one who can smile when
his shorts creep up in a knot."

Yahoo Groups: Profiles
http://profiles.yahoo.com/bullticky


The previous quote I located is taken from the movie Caddyshack.

"Judge Smails: It's easy to grin / When your ship comes in / And
you've got the stock market beat. / But the man worthwhile, / Is the
man who can smile, / When his shorts aren't too tight in the seat."
(Ted Knight, Caddyshack)
 
Garner Classics: Memorable Quotes from Caddyshack
http://www.garnersclassics.com/qcaddy.htm

The Web Attempt: Movie Quotes
http://www.webattempt.com/quote.html


Search criteria:

"humorous poem" "hard work" dedication
"but the man worthwhile is"
"the man who is worthwhile"
Judge Smails "CaddyShack"
smile "up in a knot" worthwhile
"creep up in a knot"


I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions regarding my answer
please don't hesitate to ask before rating it.

Best wishes,
rainbow-ga

Apparently the late Morey Amsterdam recorded a version of this verse:

" Long before 'The Dick Van Dyke Show,' Morey Amsterdam was billed as
'the human joke machine' of stand-up. He also had some hit songs,
including 'Yuk-a-Puk.' The Signature album was recorded sans audience.
It's a bit odd, but Amsterdam does a good job of timing his jokes for
anticipated laughter, and keeping a conversational style as if only
expecting a chuckle or two in return...He does a set of drunk jokes,
psychiatrist bits, etc. (examples given)... Novelty tunes break things
up, with Amsterdam's theme song 'Yuk-a-Puk' included. The lyrics here
are different from his original 78rpm single: 'It's easy to grin when
your ship comes in, and life is a happy lot. But the man who's
worthwhile is the man who can smile when his shorts creep up in a
knot. Yuk-a-puc, yuk-a-puc, yuk-a-puc...' "

http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=846713035.3047%40dejanews.com&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain