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The boy went thru all the books in thee olde book mule

he and his pal were way beyond goin’ to school

intrigued the most by the oldest books they could find

I pointed ’em all out like nuggets hiddin in a gold mine

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He just had to have thee olde Saga Of Billy The Kid

wanted to read the true story of what that outlaw did

thee olde tome was held together by small pieces of tape

sittin’ on the shelf waitin’ to get plucked like a grape

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But Dad got enthralled by a historical picture book

and would only buy that so that is all that they took

and away to Rocky Point they sped for the weekend

I said “adios” to Dad, his son, and his son’s friend

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My God, how is an idiot like that bred by this world?

Bought a picture book but not a real book slightly curled

for his son who was willing to sit down and read

Jesus please have mercy on such a retarded breed

!

A couple days later, Sunday, it was dusty & hot

I stood jawin’ with another mentally retarded hot shot

in front of the wonderfully inspiring olde book mule

when up prances some kid lookin’ quite triumphant and cool

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I asked him something and he just stepped up to the spot

plucked up the book n’ handed me what made it bought

“Now you can eat tonight!”  yelled Pa from across the lot

yeeeeeeeap, just what the world needs, another damn hot shot

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Well, the kid got The Saga and I got a meal

though it cost more than the book, still I feel

pretty good about thee ol’ pa who finally pulled thru

then there’s the kid, I wonder, is his name Billy too?

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Rawclyde

!

(Copyright Clyde Collins 1999)

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At the intersection of two major highways – AZ State Routes 85 & 86 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why,_Arizona

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