The thing that is tough with a limerickIs trying to get the lines to stick.Line one rhymes with line two.Lines three and four rhyme too,But getting line five to rhyme with line one is the trick!What is a limerick, you may ask? Simply put, a limerick is supposed to be a funny little poem that contains five lines.The first two lines rhyme with each other, the next two lines rhyme together, and then the fifth line rhymes with the first two.Lines one, two and five all have eight syllables, while lines three and four only have six syllables.Intended to be funny or satirical, the limerick takes about a minute to structure and a lifetime to master, but in one evening on May 12, patrons of Enrico's Tazzo D'Oro Café and Espresso Bar in the Highland Park area can purchase limericks created just for them.In honor of National Limerick Day, Sal Greco of Wexford will create the custom limericks when he kicks off a local tour of coffeehouses and restaurants that will continue through May.Although there is no designated fee for the limericks, Greco suggests a $5 donation per limerick. Limericks can be customized to address a variety of topics, he said.Proceeds from the limericks will go to the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens of Butler County, where Greco serves as a board member.While National Limerick Day celebrates the life of Edward Lear, whose "Book of Nonsense" popularized limericks in the mid-1800s, limerick writing has been around since the late 1600s.One of the endearing qualities of a limerick is that anyone can write one, from well-educated literature buffs to grade school children just learning about rhythms and word patterns.According to Richard Birch, a retired psychologist in Ohio who hosts a Web site on limericks, the limerick traditionally introduces a character in the very first line or identifies a location.One of the other serious misconceptions about limericks is that they are all supposed to be bawdy or lined with double-meaning word play that is geared toward adults.Grecohowever, has been writing limericks for his four grandchildren since early 2004."It started out while I was in South Carolina and wanted to send notes to my grandkids. I wanted to send them something funny that they could enjoy, and it occurred to me that I should send them limericks," Greco said.The former computer salesperson turned writer put pen to paper, and within a matter of weeks had a small mountain of limericks geared at teaching his grandchildren lessons in a fun way that they would remember."It's pretty difficult to make a statement in five lines," said Greco. "And for most people, they think of a limerick as something dirty or adult oriented."That's one of the great ironies of Greco's talents, as he can use traditional limerick style geared toward adults and turn it into a lesson in and of itself for his grandchildren and other young adults.His talents have led him deeper down the poetic pathway, since Greco has begun customizing limericks for all occasions with only a limited amount of information.Max, Greco's oldest grandchild, likes it when his Papa writes "gross" poems that involve earwax and squishing bugs.Some of the skills the writer uses come from his days of doing stand-up comedy and live improvisation; two skills that require quick thinking and a knack for picking up on a person's quirky habits in a matter of minutes."I guess that stand-up comedy and sales has helped in some ways since I can pretty much learn a lot about a person in a short timeframe."In some of his work, Greco also takes on adult-like topics such as corporate greed, politics and business scandals.Tools of the trade include a very well worn rhyming dictionary, a thesaurus and the desire to continually re-work words so they still make sense but rhyme better than before. "There has never been one time that I haven't had to re-work a limerick to make it better, but it is worth the effort," said Greco.To book Greco at your event or facility, e-mail him at:avanti@nauticom.netor call 724-316-9326.