One evening,
while driving down an old highway,
I picked up a mysterious hitchhiker.
I asked him where he was headed,
and in a deep voice,
he told me he was going to Memphis
to see his mama.
***
Now this hitchhiker was very polite,
always replying with a
“Yes, Sir”, or a “No, Ma’am”,
depending on the question or
how the lights of the passing cars
reflected off my eyes.
***
I asked him his name, and
he laughed softly to himself, and replied,
“Let’s just say it rhymes with Presley.“
Then he gave gave me a wink.
***
I immediately began making guesses,
“Tresley?
Quesley?
Frezley?
Schlessley?
Zezzley?”
But the mysterious hitchhiker only
winked again
and asked me to stop making guesses.
***
He told me that life had taught him
a valuable lesson,
which he would reveal to me,
if I was willing to listen.
***
I said, no, but
he began to weave a tale, anyway,
which I will relate to you now:
***
The mysterious hitchhiker
told me that many years ago,
he had willingly given up the
august spot-light,
and the adulation of millions
for anonymity and adventure.
He traveled the world several times
and again, solving crimes,
and exploring mysteries,
like, living for forty days and
forty nights in
the Pacific Northwest wilderness,
searching for Bigfoot!
***
At the end of his journey,
with no sightings of the mythical beast,
the hitchhiker concluded,
that maybe Bigfoot was a thing
that could only be ‘found’
when searching within oneself.
***
Nevertheless,
when the hitchhiker returned home,
he found a note from Bigfoot
that read,
“Just stopped by to say, Hello. But you were out.
Yours,
‘Bigfoot’“
***
But then, as an afterthought,
on the flip-side,
Bigfoot mentioned that he hoped
the hitchhiker was not hiding out
somewhere
in the Pacific Northwest wilderness
just to avoid paying back
the $40 he owed him.
***
This, of course, was not true, for as,
the hitchhiker had previously noted,
it was he who had been looking for him!
***
Unfortunately, for the hitchhiker,
Bigfoot, had taken the opportunity
to crash at the hitchhikers pad for
several weeks: eating all of his food,
breaking all of his chairs,
and doodling all over his
expensive personal stationary.
***
What was worse,
Bigfoot
had run also off with his ‘old lady’.
***
This surprised the hitchhiker
the most of all,
because he had always thought
his old lady worshipped the ground
he walked on.
And, in a way, he was right,
as she would eventually leave Bigfoot,
and move in with
a piece of ground.
.
PART TWO
.
***
The hitchhiker grew sullen and he
turned his attention back to
looking out the car window.
***
As we passed though a small town,
the hitchhiker interrupted my whistling
and asked if I could let him out
near a Ralph’s supermarket.
“I need to pick up some-thing for my mama,” he said.
***
I obliged, and pulled into the Ralph’s ample parking lot,
but after I had parked the car,
I suddenly realized that I was all alone.
The mysterious hitchhiker was gone!
***
What could it all mean?” I asked myself.
Then I noticed something on
the passenger seat.
It was the hitchhikers,
Ralph’s value club card.
Had the hitchhiker been trying to teach me
a lesson about savings?
It was just all too much for me to process.
***
Nevertheless,
I went into the store,
used his Ralph’s value club card and
saved fifty cents on paper towels,
and box of microwave sushi.
***
“Savings.” I said confidently,
as I walked my discounted loot up
to the counter.
***
As I paid for my items,
the grocery checker looked at the name
on the receipt
and said, “Thank you, Mr. Nestlé!”
I nodded,
struck a rock n roll pose,
curled my lip
and said,
“Thank-you-very-much.”
***
“Oh, all right,” said the checker.
.
CONCLUSION
.
***
Exactly ten years later to the day,
I was on the same road again,
and happened to stop at old highway diner
for breakfast.
***
There I overhead three truck drivers
talking about a
mysterious hitchhiker
they had all individually encountered.
***
“Trying to get home to his mama.” Said one.
“Disappeared into thin air” said the other.
“Looking for his Ralph’s value club card,”
said the third.
end.
I heard that Bigfoot wears blue suede shoes, and that he loves to eat chocolate.
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That’s him! Thanks for reading, DM
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Brilliant. Fun fact: you have a greater chance at seeing a Bigfoot than seeing me jogging.
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Hah! Cheers, River
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Excellent tale! So much to process…
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Thanks, brother craig!
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Now that is a movie waiting to be made.
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Thanks, Badfinger. I am one to agree.
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Bravo! This one’s twistier than New Hampshire backroads!
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Cheers, g65! I appreciate your comments
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Motorists’ reports Authenticate strange sightings En route to Graceland
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And yet, was it Elvis?! Nevertheless, very nice, C.E.Sum! Cheers.
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What a super tale! It would make a great film!
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Thanks, mm!
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Ha, this is great, love how it just keeps going.
Early on I thought: is there a 3rd person in the car? Why does your gender change depending on the question you asked? But then I realized this is the least of my worries.
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Haha! Thanks for making it all the way through. Nice to hear from you, J.
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Epic stanzaic poem featuring both the King and Bigfoot (who are quite possibly one and the same). Brilliant! Since Ralph’s was mentioned, I guess they never left the Western US. I don’t think you’ll find any Ralphs in Elvis territory.
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Elvis, Bigfoot and/or Mr. Nestle the chocolate heir, but yeh could be a ‘six of one’ kind of thing. Totally right about Ralph’s, though. And thanks for reading, fw!
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[…] via The cock-a-hoop ghost — t r e f o l o g y […]
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Thank you, DBB2!
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What a great read! :) —CC
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Thank you, Chagall. I appreciate it.
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Love it – at first I thought I know where this is going.. but, as usual with your works, one ends up somewhere completely different. Thank you!
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Thank you for the kind words, wibi
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This might be my favorite post so far, tref. <3
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Thank you, very much, Elizabeth.
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Terrific!
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Thanks, Jack!
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I was thoroughly entertained by this tale. Thank you. Thank you very much.
For the record this right here happens to me all day every day…
“…if I was willing to listen. I said, no, but he began to weave a tale, anyway”
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Thank you and thank you again, as well! It means a lot.
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What a delightful story that took my imagination in all kinds of directions. In fact I am still not sure what to think! :)
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Haha! Thanks, LuAnne
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[…] The cock-a-hoop ghost […]
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Thank you, Esme
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Brilliant!! I was hooked! Throughly enjoyable read, Sir, I mean Ma’am. 😅
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Thank you so much, mother wintermoon. That is very kind.
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🙏😊🖖
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I think this is my new favorite story of yours. Actually lol’ed for real at the last line. Nicely done, George! 😉
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Thank you very, very much, Traci.
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“I said no but he began to weave a tale anyway”. No win situation tref. Thing is , it always comes down to Bigfoot.
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it does, indeed, baby-head of cincinnati
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I just dropped a comment over at Vinyl Connection about bringing Bigfoot and a BBQ. I’m sure you could tag along.
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An astounding epic, Father Tref.
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Thank you, Young Brian. That is nice of you say.
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You know I love it!
Had me enjoying it beginning to end.
Nestle – classic.
Dig your “extended” style.
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Thanks, 00! I really appreciate you taking the time to read it.
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This one is my all-time fave.
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Much appreciated my dear SS
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Thoroughly enjoyed that. Thanks
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Thank you, Mr. Callas. I appreciate your kind words.
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A very enjoyable read?
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Thank you?
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Oops…sorry…
I’m battling with spellcheck… (new cell phone) it was supposed to be an exclamation mark! Lol
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Haha! I figured. Thanks, Nadine
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😁👍 you are very welcome!
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I’m thinking he was nothing but a hound dog.
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I have picked up strays before.
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Unleashed humor has its charm.
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