Russ Towne's A Grateful Man

OK, this post is going to take some explaining first. In a recent reply to a comment made by fellow blogger and friend Diana S providing an update on the song that she and her daughter’s generosity inspired, I joked something to the effect that sometimes such projects take on a life of their own. Attempting to be witty (I usually end up being about half-witty) I thought of the silliest mental image I could think of on very short notice and added something along the lines of “And and who knows, before it’s done, it might morph into a song about a green giraffe named Clyde who is standing on his head eating a banana in the rain.”

That’s when the trouble started…

That phrase stuck in my head and wouldn’t leave. I knew I wasn’t going to get any sleep until I’d dealt with it. It became a challenge. Fortunately–or unfortunately (you’ll get to decide after reading it)–I’ve wanted to attempt to write a children’s poem or story that I could read to my grandkids as they got a bit older. So, I decided to use that phrase to see what I could come up with and promised myself that I would use every part of the silly phrase “a green giraffe named Clyde who is standing on his head eating a banana in the rain.”

Below is my first attempt in 25 or 30 years to write a children’s story.

OK, I’ve stalled as long as I can, so ready or not, here it comes.

Clyde and I
I went to say “hi” to new neighbors next door
And saw something I’d never seen before
When I say what I saw please don’t laugh
Because what I saw was a green giraffe!
He was standing on his head out in the rain
And the poor wet guy seemed in a lot of pain
His body swayed way up high
And his feet were stuck straight up in the sky!
I just stood there not knowing what to do
As he ate a banana that was bright blue!
I’ve seen yellow bananas, and green ones too,
Even brown and black ones, but never blue!
When I offered my umbrella
To that very soaked fella
He said, “Hi, my name is Clyde.”
Then looked at me with sad, sad, eyes
And with a sigh he said, “Silly me.
“I tried to untie a knot in a tree.
“Now what a pain in the neck I’ve got.
“When I bend it wrong it hurts a LOT.
“So I’m standing on my head to work out the kinks
“He explained between rain-drop blinks
“And I’m eating this banana to keep up my strength
“It takes a lot of muscles for a neck this length”
Then he thought for a while
And on his face grew a great big smile
“Would you please use my neck for a slide?
You’ll help my sore neck muscles if you take a ride
And I’ll bet that if you do
It will be a lot of fun for you.”
I knew right then we’d become good friends!
The End
–Russ Towne

A green giraffe named Clyde who likes to eat bananas while standing on his head in the rain…