Just Fun Stuff for Tuesday, August 17th

JoAnn Arnold

Several years ago I wrote a few Melodramas for my Community Theatre and, for some reason, I just gotta tell ya about some of the fun stuff inside the cover of one of them.

The title: "The Legend of Alley Backward" or "What is, Just May not Be, and What Could Have Been, Was Not"

Now in this melodrama we have our villains, our Sheriff and our hero, in that order. I'm just going to share with you two songs from the melodrama so you can get a taste of the story.

Song: "Alkali and the Sarsaparilla Bar"

In the town of Alkali, thar's a Sarsaparilla bar,
Just a stretch out that a-way. It isn't very far.
It's hidden and secluded. the population's small.
If it weren't for the outlaws, thar'd be no one thar at all.

But thar's one thing really clear.
They like to gather here,
In this fine bar to have a sip
Of those six delicious flavors,Cherry, orange and grip.
(that's grape but I had to make it rhyme)

Song: (Describing Alley Backward, the hero . . . in the end)

Ain't ya heard the story 'bout the backward outlaw?
Funniest thing that ever ya saw.
He was backward in the way he walked.
Backward in the way he walked,
And backward in the way he thought.
Even too backward to even get caught.

Now Backward tried robbin' the frontier stages,
But sent the stage drivers into fits of laughin' rages.
'Cause every time he took the gold,
He'd hand it to the driver to hold,
While he mounted his horse and holstered his gun,
Then left riding backward the way he had come.

Now Backward tried learnin' a new profession,
Stealin' horses became his next greatest obsession.
But the saddle he'd steal instead of the horse,
Just opposite of what he should, of course,
For backward he was and backward he thought.
But though he was backward he never got caught.

That's as far as I'm going in this story, but I just have to tell you how much fun I had writing it. I might add that you haven't seen alkali until you've been to Emery County, and that Alkali in Emery County was my inspiration. Yep!

Butch Cassidy did some traveling through that area and after holding up the Train in Castle Gate, he was brought before Judge Cox,in Huntington. Judge Cox was my grandmother's father,and since I knew that story, hence my outlaw inspiration. Well, maybe I took a little creative license with that one, but you get the drift.

You just never know where your next story's going to come from. Look around you. If you see white stuff layin' on top your dirt. It just might be gold in disguise.

Ya'll have a good day, now.