It's A Cakewalk

For years I've been using the term cakewalk without having a clue as to where it originated from aside from going to my school's Halloween carnivals and hoping that Id land on the winning number when the music stopped. Goodness, I recall using a lot of my tickets and walking around and around in order to attempt to win back my Mom's cake. (Lame!!)

But honestly, I can not say what possessed me upon waking this morning to decide to learn more about cakewalks. I awoke in a giggly, silly mood so perhaps that was the reason or perhaps I have too much time on my hands for the moment. But whatever was the possession, and yes I will do a blog about addictions soon, I found myself on Wikepedia searching for my answer.

I have to say I was very surprised at the answer! And I must add that Wikepedia's answer was too lengthy and this was more concise. "In the 19th century, cakewalk was a popular contest among slaves on the American plantations. It was a strutting dance, developed as a parody of white owners, in which couples with the most stylish steps won a cake as a prize. The dance may or may not have been easy but it was certainly a lot of fun, and eventually the term cakewalk begin to be used to refer to anything easy to do. The idiom "to take the cake" has the same origin." (http://wordsmith.org/words/cakewalk.html)

Imagine my disappointment to learn this information. And here I thought it was all about Halloween, shit... lol I am never ceased to be amazed at how much information one can garner on the Internet. It simply is mind boggling and truly is easier than a 'cakewalk'. So next time you use this term or take your kids to the school carnival and walk around hoping your number comes up like you do in Vegas, think of me. After all, life is a cakewalk!!! (Well some may argue with me that it is a proverbial hamster wheel, but that is a different blog!)

"It's not true that I had nothing on. I had the radio on." - Marilyn Monroe