Twinkle Twinkle Little Twister

Twinkle Twinkle Little Twister
Written by:  Tim Ross
Illustrated by:  Scott Ross

In the middle of nowhere, and then a bit farther,

You’ll find a small town that‘s known as McCarver.

It’s tough to get out there, it’s a hard thing to do.
There’s just one little road ... it’s a bumpy one too.

But rewarded you’ll feel if you make the long jaunt,
You’ll find all the good things you ever could want.

The people you’ll meet are so friendly and kind.
You’ll feel right at home so relax and unwind.

They work really hard and all help each other
And care for their friends like a sister or brother.

Meet Mayor Hogg, he’s sure proud of his town.
“Just look what we got!”  he said, pointing ‘round.

“We love our small town!”  he bellowed with zest, 
“Of all other places we think it’s the best!”

“It ain’t perfect, by gosh, but it’s pretty darn near.
So enjoy your visit,  we’re glad you’re all here.”

Late one afternoon, how late I don’t know,
The sky it turned dark and the wind it did blow.

No one was worried, they’d seen storms before.
To get ‘em excited took a pretty good roar!

But somehow that day this storm got their attention.
When sprinkles gave way to a mighty good drenchin’.

One inch fell at first... then two... three... or four...
And still it kept raining so there must have been more.

Soon there was talk that a twister’d been sighted.
With words of this sort they all got excited!

Just moments later, at the far edge of their city,
This twister appeared and it didn’t look pretty!

It twirled and it whirled and the dirt was a-flyin’...
The people were scared there could be no denyin’!

They ran to the shelters,  a few of them screaming.
Down the faces of some the tears were a- streaming.

The poppin’ and snappin’ and horrible sounds.
Kept everyone huddled just below ground.

There were thunks and some thuds and a terrible crunch,
And  bangs and some clangs that scared ‘em a bunch!

It crashed and it bashed and it howled quite a while,
As it roared through McCarver mile after mile.

The lights all went out and then popped on again.
This happened ten times before it would end.

There was nothing to do but wait out the fury.
Not  a few did admit that they truly did worry!

It seemed like an hour but it was really just minutes,
Til’ the storm had moved on and finished its business!

Slowly but surely they all reappeared,
To see all the damage each one of them feared.

Imagine their thoughts when they looked all about
And with one mighty voice they gave a big shout!

“Yahoooo,” said the Mayor, and “Yahoooo!” once again.
“Yahoooos!” were heard loudly as they all joined in!

They’d crawled from their shelters expecting to see
The worst kind of crumbled and twisted debris.

But instead they discovered a hap-happy scene.
Please keep on reading,  you’ll see what I mean!

Paper and leaves and brush and dead bushes,
Were blown far away by the turbulent whooshes.

While roaring through town the storm had kersploshed
And it cleaned all the cars and the trucks were all washed!

Then someone screamed, “Hey look on the hill,
At the field on the farm of ol’ Farmer Bill!”

All the hay had been cut by the slashing of hail.
And the whirling winds placed it bale beside bale.

Then another man yelped, “Wow, look at our church!...
How did the steeple get up on its perch?”

This was no minor thing ‘cause before the storm blew,
On the ground sat the steeple, the work wasn’t through.

The church wasn’t done, it was under construction.
“The wind did the work!” was the townfolk’s deduction.

On the east end of town, a large barn was now missing.
No doubt it was swallowed by the ol’ twister’s hissing.

This barn was abandoned and was pretty darn old.
And now there’d be firewood for this winter’s cold!

‘Cause across the dirt road in a nicely stacked stack,
Was the wood from that barn the tornado attacked!

Grady O’Brady, a farmer down south,
Stood there bamboozled with a wide open mouth!

As he stared straight ahead at the field with the crowd,
He saw forty-four acres all perfectly plowed!

Illness had kept him from plowing that year,
There was no better time for a miracle to appear.

The clothes on the clothesline near Aunt Buelah’s house
Were all missing they were and she’d lost her best blouse!

But oh how she smiled when she found the big stack,
Of clothes folded so neatly on her doorstep out back! 

An old fishing pond way up by the tracks,
Used to be dry and pocked with big cracks.

But that little lake was now filled to the brim
With fat little fishies all taking a swim!

On the north side of town, not far from the schools,
The people saw something that broke all the rules.

Fred Hanson’s old tractor had been rusting for years
By the side of the road where it’d lost all its gears.

But now it was sitting at the top of the pile
At the new county dump down the road ‘bout a mile.

Needless to say the whole town was still reeling,
And mighty darn thankful they surely were feeling.

The town was much cleaner than before the storm hit,
And the folks in McCarver didn’t mind it a bit.

No damage was found and the town had been spared,
But how could this happen?..  It’s like the storm cared!

Then one little lady, her name was Miss Jane,
Stepped up on a porch and began to explain.

She asked all the people in that little town,
To bring their best smiles and gather around.

She wasn’t but twelve but she spoke with such fervor,
There was nary a flinch and she never did quiver!!

“When the stars up above all twinkle each night,
I pick out the brightest of the sky’s little lights.”

“And I wish and I wish and then wish some more,
And I wish once again what I wished just before.”

“And I wish for good things for all of us here.
And I wish for good things each day of the year.”

“And I wish for good health and I wish for nice toys,
And I wish all these things for all girls and boys.”

“And I wish for good jobs for women and men,
And I wish for these things and then wish ‘em again.”

“And I wish for good feelings and I wish for good health,
And I wish for good things for you and myself.”

“Last  night was no different with the wishing I did,
And I’m not just a wishy-o-washy ol’ kid.”

“I wished really hard that we’d all be protected,
That from really bad things we’d be unaffected.”

“I’m so thankful the storm has passed us all by,
And I’m thankful for stars beaming high in the sky.”

“I’m thankful for preachers and teachers and such,
And other good people who help us so much.”

“I’m grateful for wishes and a few happy thoughts,
And I’m grateful for you and all that we’ve got.”

“I love our McCarver, and I love all of you,
And that’s my best reason for the wishing I do!”

By the time she had finished the town was in tears,
And they’ve all been so happy for many long years.

Though McCarver was always a nice place to stay,
It’s even much nicer if you live there today.

And a curious thing happened to the folks in that town,
They keep their heads UP and they rarely look DOWN.

They all seem to notice the night sky above,
And those twinklin’ stars they’ve all come to love!

Copyright © 2012   timrossMEDIA