"Poetry in Motion"

HAPPILY EVER RAFTER
July, 2006

It all began with a flight,
That gave us all quite a fright.
We rolled and we rocked,
Hearts all but stopped,
But at last the Rogue was in sight.

Down to the river at Rand,
We puttered in rocks and in sand,
Finally on our way,
We began a good day,
Made new friends, Georg, Stephanie and Ann.

We have some awards to bestow,
Before we all have to go,
From honors to errors,
Laughs, gaffs and terrors,
We were treated to quite a good show.

Jackie and Bob drove to meet us,
And did as we left the shuttle bus,
Jackie blew out her knee,
Couldn’t hear but could see,
And Bob never made any fuss.

First award goes to Don,
Whose corny jokes went on and on,
When all’s said and done,
He’s the King of the Pun,
My title was taken, it’s gone. (for now!)

Kathy can now say she did
It all, she never hid,
From a challenge, she tried
Kayaking but cried,
“I’m not moving, there’s rapids ahead!”

An award to Alice and Bill,
Who came even though he’d been ill,
Alice said, “I missed the last trip,
Just please get a grip,
Here you go, just swallow this pill.”

Here’s to Ann, who met head on,
Every “pothole” or riffle or beyond,
She didn’t hesitate,
Her attempts were first-rate,
Especially her oar-flips at John.

To Leslie we offer applause,
She became our hero because,
She kayaked non-stop,
Finally she went ker-plop,
A rocky end to what had had no flaws.

To Jim goes the Award of Good Eats,
From pancakes to gravy and treats,
Mashed potatoes he’s eaten,
Set records not beaten,
That amount would be hard to defeat.

Georg and Stephanie were terrific,
They took on rapids horrific,
Georg cautiously oared,
While Stephanie soared,
Down Rainie backwards, to be specific.

Our guides were watchful, protective,
But not above mischief selective,
To guess whose paddley splash,
Or kayak rear crash,
We didn’t need a detective.
(Brian, Kale and Johnny, you’re the best!)

Now, Gary wins the Grand Prize,
For the funniest act in our eyes,
He’d taken a swim,
Then tried to get in,
The raft, tougher than realized.

Well, Johnny hauled him up and he slid,
Between the pontoons, yes he did,
He flipped and he flopped,
‘Til his life jacket stopped,
Covering all of his face, half his lid.

Lastly, here’s to our boys strong and brave,
Hauling dry bags and making kayak saves,
Helping all those in need,
We’re grateful, indeed,
Especially the Queen of the Waves.

SEQUEL (the 3rd and last day)

We knew there had to be more,
And before the rafts went ashore,
Events grew comic indeed,
As you will soon read,
It’s now part of Sunset Ridge Lore.

Picture Gary and Jim with a pail,
Our stealth raft hot on the trail,
Of Don in ball cap
Taking a nap,
On raft two, would good sense prevail?

Of course not, and Donny got soaked.
Along with some other good folks,
Alice, Kathy and Bill,
Shared the wet thrill,
Not once, but three buckets, Holy smokes!

Retaliation was clear,
And soon a raft did appear,
Bill began to unfold,
Stood up, a pail he did hold,
We should have been shaking with fear.

Things began to go awry,
As Bill gave his throw a try.
His backswing propelled
Him into Humiliation Hell,
As he fell off the raft, my oh my!

We meanly laughed and thought we had won,
But Team Don and Bill weren’t done.
Don furtively scooped
Water up then said “Oops”
The bucket dropped, now their guide joined the fun.

Kale jumped in, saved the day,
Saved the bucket, earning his pay,
Don and Bill looking rough,
Said “Enough is enough,”
And were quiet the rest of the day.

And last but not least, I relate,
The egg salad Jim had on his plate,
At lunch; we all chuckled,
As the paper plate buckled
And the salad plopped out -it was great!

You can only imagine his expression,
As this mess landed, making an impression,
On the whole plate of meat,
That now no one could eat.
We held our breaths, but there were no signs of depression.

So just about an hour after,
Our voyage so filled with laughter,
Was finally through,
With us thinking that you,
Would be sure we have bats in our rafters!

Back to the Rafting Testimonials Page