Sneelock

After my Father's Day post, someone asked what a Sneelock is, so I decided I had to explain it. Sneelock is a character in one of my favorite books, Dr. Seuss's If I Ran the Circus. (If you haven't read this book, go get it.) In it, a young boy dreams of cleaning up the vacant lot behind Sneelock's Store and turning it into a stupendous circus (the Circus McGurkus). He dreams up all kinds of fantastic acts for the circus, which often involve Sneelock, usually doing dangerous or difficult or thankless jobs. (By the way, I just noticed that Dr. Seuss dedicated the book to his dad, so I'm guessing that he was a Sneelock too!)

Here are some excerpts:

And you'll now meet the Foon! The Remarkable Foon
Who eats sizzling hot pebbles that fall off the moon!
And the reason he likes them red hot, it appears,
Is he greatly enjoys blowing smoke from his ears.
Of course pebbles like this are quite hard to collect
But Sneelock will manage, somehow, I expect.
After all, Mr. Sneelock is one of my friends
And I'm sure he'll help out doing small odds and ends.
-----
And now Here!
In this cage
Is a beast most ferocious
Who's known far and wide
As the Spotted Atrocious
Who growls, howls and yowls
The most bloodcurdling sounds
And each tooth in his mouth
Weighs at least sixty pounds
And he chews up and eats with the greatest of ease
Things like carpets and sidewalks and people and trees!
But the great Colonel Sneelock is just the right kind
Of a man who can tame him. I'm sure he won't mind.
-----
And NOW!
Again Sneelock!
Brave Sneelock is back
Risking life on my patented Life-Risking-Track
While the speedsters I call my Colliding-Collusions
Race round in swift cars called Abrasion-Contusions
And Sneelock just lies there. Not one bit excited.
I know he won't mind. He'll be simply delighted.

At the end of the book, the little boy says:

He'll manage just fine.
Don't ask how he'll manage.
That's his job. Not mine.

So you see that Sneelock is always getting roped into doing whatever needs doing. It's not necessarily easy, and it's certainly never convenient. But Sneelock does it all and stays cool as a cucumber. He's always pictured in the book as standing there with his pipe in his mouth and his hands in his pockets, not a care in the world. The boy always says, "Sneelock will do it. Sneelock won't mind."

I'm not sure when we started calling my dad Sneelock. He will do anything you ask him to do. If he comes back from the grocery store after getting what you sent him out to get, and you say you forgot to tell him about a crucial ingredient, he will turn right around and go back to get it. He'll even buy you tampons, no problem. If you need something heavy to be moved, he's on it. If you mention your kids might like a sandbox to play in, he's already calculating the materials and dimensions. He drives almost an hour each way to pick up his grandson for the weekend. Every weekend. He did an early morning paper route for years to make ends meet. He drove an old car we called "the Death Trap" forever. You see, he just does whatever you need. He does whatever it takes, and he doesn't complain. He's our own resident Sneelock.

I didn't realize until I left home how rare Sneelocks are. My husband, for example, thinks that when we call my dad Sneelock it's a pejorative. He doesn't realize it's the highest compliment I could ever pay anyone.