Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Monday, November 18, 2019

Night Riders

I was ten, and George was twelve,
And Jerry close to fifteen,
And Chris, the eldest of us all,
The grand old age of sixteen.
But most important, she could drive,
She’d just received her permit,
And we were planning something grand,
On roads of dirt. And moonlit.
Yes, we were going into town,
The first time without parents,
To see a movie, cruise down main,
Just fun. (And not aberrant.)
And all went just as we had planned
Then much too soon, our ‘party’
Was done and we were headed home,
Feeling all grown up and smart-y.
But partway there, the fuel line,
Well, it just disconnected,
But nimble fingers went to work,
And soon it was corrected.
A little further on, we stopped
Cause now the tank was dry,
On such a dark and lonely road,
When no one lived nearby!
But then some lights! Who could it be?
Our neighbours, soon it prov-ed,
Had made their annual trip to town,
To do whate’re behoov—ed. 
They tumbled from their ancient truck,
“Now, kidsh, whash ish the matter?”
When we explained, they laughed and then,
They started in to chatter…
“Don’t worry kidsh, we’ve got a shain,
We’ll help you in a jiffy!”
We kids could smell the liquor,
(And were feeling rather ‘iffy’.)
But soon they’d gotten out their chain,
And wrapped it round our frame,
Our sister drove like Mario,
The speeds were nigh the same!
They dropped us off in our barnyard,
And waved to us so cheerful,
We kids trooped over to the house,
To give our folks an earful!
I often contemplate that night,
And think what might have been,
When neighbours came and saved us all
By appearing on the scene!
Though, it was a little scary and
it was a bit insane,
Driving 50 m.p.h.
On 12 short feet of 'shain'!

Cause Mondays do get knocked a lot,
With poetry, we all besought,
To try to make the week begin
With pleasant thoughts. Perhaps a grin?
So Mother Owl, Jenny and Mimi,
Have posted poems for you to see.
And now you’ve seen what we have brought...
Did we help?
Or did we not?

Next week, because I Think it’s fun,
We’ll talk of WINDOWS. Everyone!

18 comments:

  1. Hilarious and, thankfully, a happy ending. Gotta love neighbours who carry a 'shain'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suspect there are more than we know! ;) SO nice to see you!

      Delete
  2. Spirited neighbours to the rescue - Stringam style. Love it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahahaha! Yep. Definitely neighbours who have been in the spirits! :)

      Delete
  3. Your poem brought back some old memories of the forgotten fun years.
    I read it out loud because I think all poetry should be read aloud.
    It should definitely be read aloud by the poetess.

    Here's to good neighbors and good poets.
    And to 'not so good' poets .... who only try to be. See below.

    https://nothoughtsnoprayersnonothing.blogspot.com/2019/11/poetry-monday-neighbors.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, you do far more than try! But thank you for your so kind words! :)

      Delete
  4. Wow, one of those "what if" occasions. Thank God your (*hiccup*) neighbors got you home safely.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That "party/smart-y" rhyme is hilarious!

    I'm glad the ride home on a short "shain" ended safely!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It wasn't until afterward that one thinks of all the might-haves! Whew!

      Delete
  6. Oh my! I bet that was terrifying and sounds a lot like some of our neighbors. There is no drinking in our households so I guess it just seemed so foreign to us! (Rena)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It certainly was! I remember standing there wondering what was wrong with them! Hahahaha!

      Delete
  7. Wonder what the neighbors remembered? Love the happy ending!

    ReplyDelete
  8. A scary bit of a time and a happy ending, thank heavens! At least their hearts were in the right place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They definitely were kind and totally willing to help. They were pretty much hermits, so it was truly a miracle they chose that precise night for their annual trip into town!

      Delete
  9. This is lovely. keep it up.This is so lovely.

    ReplyDelete

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