Woodchucks Chucking Memories

As much as there are tons of TV commercials that make me cringe, there are also a lot of commercials that make me smile, chuckle and outright cackle with laughter. One of my absolute favorites is the HP eprint commercial of the baby scooting across the nation’s highways to the tune of Melanie Safka’s Brand New Key. Only people with hearts of stone can watch that commercial and not giggle.

Other favorites are the US Post Office commercial with the demonic clown toy and the Purina dog food commercial featuring older dogs.

My absolute favorite overall brand commercials are those done by Jack In The Box. Although I never eat at Jack In The Box, for years I've found their commercials pure genius. I especially loved the one where he visits his folks.

But the commercial I want to talk about today is one for Geico. It’s silly, even stupid, not particularly funny, and I find the pitch man on these commercials annoying. But, that said, this particular Geico commercial totally tugs my heart strings. Why? Because it reminds me of my father. It’s the one with the woodchucks throwing sticks of wood into a nearby lake while a farmer shakes his fist at them.

You see, when I was a very little girl, my father taught me the woodchuck ditty. And now, whenever I see that commercial, even though the sing-song little poem is not recited, I recite it in my head exactly as my father taught me over fifty years ago.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

My father's birthday was in February and it was in February that he passed away eighteen years ago, but I hear his voice every time those woodchucks start chucking that wood.