The crowd would cheer and shout;
With his ‘Triple Spin’ there was no doubt;
Stu knew how to strike the best players OUT;
It happened way back then, the town folk claim;
Everyone was ready, to play the big ball game;
But the other team was still one player down;
Their missing player was Vandyke Brown;
Vandyke fell out of a tree;
He broke his arm and twisted his knee;
The other coach asked, “What else can we do?
Our team needs to get that player from you.”
There was a coin flip and “HEADS!” was called;
When they picked Stu Foss, it didn’t seem right at all;
“He’s our best player!” the whole team complained.
“…but they need another player!” the coach explained;
Stu ended up playing for the other team;
The game-winning team, that all got cake and ice cream;
Lou said, “It’s because of Stu, all because of the pitches he threw.”
“It wasn’t my fault!” Stu would say, “They needed a player, so we all could play!”
Lou replied, “You tried too hard to win!
You pitched the ball with your ‘Triple Spin’!
I’d never do that to my own twin!”
One team must win and one team must lose;
It was only being fair, if the losing team wasn’t Lou’s;
Stu didn’t think that was quite right;
They both started to fight;
Lou said, “There’s no way I want to be like you”
That’s when it all started, and got worse as they grew;
Lou wouldn’t choose anything, if it was just like Stu’s;
Eventually, even Stu started doing it too;
Stu wouldn’t choose anything, if just like Lou’s.
THE TOWN
It all started out small, when it began, and then completely got out of hand;
How it all got so unbalanced, no one really understands;
It was much more than just Lou being different than his brother;
Over time, all the townsfolk took one side or the other;
It not only separated the east from the west;
Both sides of town believed they were the best;
Both Lou and Stu started this whole change;
Both sides of town began acting strange;
There was a yellow line painted down the middle of Main Street;
Tourists thought our town was just a bit offbeat;
Some of them came just to observe;
On the east side of town, the roads are all curved;
The houses, windows and stairs weren’t very square;
They were painted with lots of red spots and dots;
On the west side of town they were not;
All the trees were bushy and wild;
That’s what they liked, that was their eastside style;
On the west side of town, all the roads were straight and true;
All their houses and windows were square, and the stairs were too;
All their houses had big white stripes and lines;
Other things were different colours, just like their blue stop signs;
All the trees were even, but slightly crooked too;
It seemed very odd, from anyone’s point of view;
No one was at all disappointed, when things weren’t round;
That’s just the way, on the west side of town;
Both sides of the town were as different as could be;
That’s how they all liked it and everyone there would agree.
THE GANG
One day some strangers came to town; they called their boss Smiley;
He seemed a bit sneaky, and even a bit wily;
There were two other guys, and a strange looking bird with shifty green eyes;
Each of them looked like they wore a disguise;
Bert was very tall and thin;
His mustache kept falling off of him;
At one time, it was on his chin;
The other one, Bart, was short and fat;
His hair looked like a small door mat;
He wore glasses that had no glass, and sometimes he would pass loud gas;
The fourth member, of the “Smiley Gang”, was a gigantic bird named Gerome;
He was a buzzard, a vulture, or something not very well known;
Tied around his neck was a heavy grey stone;
Gerome seemed hungry, when he glared at Stu’s white shoes;
Stu uses red leather laces, just like all baseballs do;
Those laces squirmed like worms to eat;
That bird watched him closely, each time Stu moved his feet;
First to the left and then turning right;
Stu was worried, that the bird might take a big bite;
The “Smiley Gang” were always up to no good;
At least, they would be, if they could;
Although they always seem to scheme and plot, their gang has never been caught doing much of anything they should not;
They tried being train robbers, but it just didn’t stick;
Both Bert and Bart got motion sick;
Sometimes the train was just too quick,
They tried being grave robbers, but were just too afraid;
Bert turned blue, felt dizzy and began to fade;
Stuff like that scares him a lot, and Bart was always worried, about getting caught;
No one ever said he should not;
There was a wishing well, in the centre of town;
It was full of coins that people threw down;
They lowered a rope, to get the cash;
Planned just to climb down, and then back up in a flash;
It was too dark for Bert, and Bart was scared of rats and bats;
All the money is still down there, and that’s all there was to that;
They tried to rob a jewelry store, but everything was too sparkly and bright;
The sight of it all gave Gerome a bad fright;
Inside the store, he tried to take flight;
After that he wasn’t quite right;
When something is too shiny, he gets all upset, but he’s still a gang member and the best lookout they could get;
Smiley, their boss, has a really big grin;
It’s just like a clown’s, but don’t ever say that to him;
He’s really afraid of clowns, having once been scared by one;
To him clowns and balloons just really aren’t much fun;
As a gang, they were all pretty bad;
There’s nothing much more to add;
Smiley stepped forward, in a sly crafty way, “Really, I’d rather not intrude, but I’ve heard all the stories, about your small town and the feud;
Why not let Stu’s and Lou’s teams play ball to win?”
He said this all with an evil kind of grin, “Play a baseball game to settle this mess.
Besides the winners getting cake and ice cream, it will end this whole problem, more or less;
Everyone will then know, just which side of your town is the best;
The winner decides how people should be dressed, or what colours are right for the east and the west.”
Mayor Moonlight was there and he added, “A baseball game was how it began and how it should end, and everyone should attend;
No matter who wins, it will help the town mend.”
“It may be late in the baseball season!” he exclaimed, “but there’s time for one final game, all the same. That really does make sense! Next Saturday the big game will commence!”
THE BIG GAME
So, that very next Saturday, the big game was planned to start;
Both teams wore brand new uniforms and the players all looked very smart;
All the people, from both the east and west side of town were there too;
Some came to watch Stu’s team playing
against Lou’s;
Others came to watch Lou’s team playing against Stu’s;
Families, neighbours, and old friends all sat together;
The day of the game had perfect weather;
Everyone dressed in clothes that were colourful and bright;
Those from the east wore red and the west painted their faces white;
The whole ballpark was red and white coloured patches;
It was just like most all the big sporting matches;
Mayor Dwight Moonlight knew both Lou and Stu;
He went to school with both those two, and was their best friend, long before all the trouble between them grew;
He was on that old baseball team;
The one that had no cake and ice cream;
Dwight Moonlight had kept their old baseball too;
That same baseball used by Stu, to strike out his brother Lou;
That baseball had magic inside of it;
All that magic, to fix the town’s awful split;
The town was divided for much, much too long;
Maybe, that baseball could repair what was wrong;
It was the Mayor’s duty, to begin the big ball game;
“With this legendary old ball, let the game start,” he proclaimed.
The entire crowd cheered for it all, when the Umpire yelled, “Let’s play ball!”
The first inning got started, with a quick home run;
Then the other team also got one;
It went back and forth, just like that;
Both teams scored, each time they got to bat;
One team and then the other, both teams were well matched for one another.
THE ROBBERY
The bleachers were filled with their fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers;
Everyone was there; there were no others;
There was no one left at home, no one around;
So, the Smiley Gang started robbing our whole town;
From both the east and the west, everyone was at the game;
Three big black trucks had another despicable aim;
While the game was going on, the money in the bank was all withdrawn;
Half the stuff in Lou’s store was now gone;
Stu’s entire store was already loaded on a truck;
Except for some smoked snails and a small wooden duck;
Bart had eaten loads of candy, enough to fill a truck;
Some toffee goo was on his shoes, each time he walked it stuck;
Gerome was flying high overhead, watching that all was clear;
No one from the town came anywhere near;
From a long way off, they could hear the town cheers;
The score was the same, well into the game;
The teams continued to play, as the crowd cheered, “HOORAY!”
Both teams played well that day;
The Smiley Gang kept robbing the town;
The trucks filled up with the whole downtown;
How it all fit in those trucks, I really don’t know;
All three of the trucks began to grow;
They started to bulge and to swell;
They even got longer, as well.
They stole everything in town, except for the playground sign;
Bert was afraid he might get a fine;
Every time the ball was hit high, Gerome just wondered, “Why?”
On that ball they were pitching, Gerome saw the red stitching;
Birds don’t know baseball, not at all, but they like worms both big and small;
With even the whole town watching from their seats, Gerome still wanted those red wiggly treats;
The batter let fly –WHACK -- and sent the ball high;
It sailed way up into the sky;
It was the top of the ninth and bases were loaded;
That ball just stayed there, as if it just floated;
It was the final home run;
The game was almost done, but that ball wasn’t moving, high up near the sun;
The crowd went silent as they squinted to see;
No one was cheering or yelling “WHOOPEE!”
That ball was needed to win;
Without that ball there’d be no winning twin.
BIRD BRAINS
Gerome grabbed the baseball, while high up in the air;
The winning ball was still there and still fair;
When that big ugly bird grabbed it that way, it really became a fowl, foul play;
The baseball game is never a tie when it’s done;
The winning team must win by, at least, one Home Run;
The crowd started getting really angry;
Gerome quickly flew off, towards his boss Smiley;
The whole town started running after their ball;
That bird wouldn’t get away, not at all;
The gang was still robbing the whole town;
When they saw people coming they put some stuff down;
For Smiley it seemed just like some bad nightmare;
When he saw the townsfolk, it really gave him a scare;
That look on his face was much more than just worried;
The whole town looked just like clowns, as they all hurried;
Those baggy pants, two times their size, with really long ties;
Some with little bow ties and clothes too tight,
Some with big shoes, little hats, and faces painted white;
Smiley just ran screaming with arms waving wildly;
He had a great fear of clowns, saying it mildly;
Close behind him all his gang was running and Bart became unstuck;
The entire gang left all three of their gigantic full trucks.
The whole Smiley gang are in jail now, and Smiley only wears a frown;
THE WINNERS
In some ways, Lou and Stu both kind of saved the town;
Making everyone act and look like clowns;
Since they started all the trouble, it just seems right;
The whole town gets along, and still shops where they might;
The town of Gilmore may never be completely alright;
The townsfolk don’t mind if their clothes are too tight;
They don’t mind if some foods do taste funny and some are too runny;
From the east or the west, it makes no difference at all;
In this town, the most important thing is to play some baseball;
There’s a sign post now, as you enter Gilmore;
Big ugly birds aren’t allowed in our town anymore;
The town never did finish that game;
They all feel like winners, just the same.
THE END
© 2015 Peter W. Collier
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Peter W. Collier
Kristina Jacobs
Chris Raven
Dani J Caile
Peter John
Alan Hardy
Margaret Wiese
Margene Wiese-Baier
James Gordon
Rowan Blair Colver
Dorothy Seers
Nanny Shorey
Peter W. Collier
A Canadian author, with stories and style deserving attention, Peter W. Collier began with writing free-rhyming prose stories for his own children. His stories are both a delight to read and to hear. They are designed as a slow, calming 10 to 15 minute bedtime reading. Adults appreciate them as much as children. Currently, readers will find 22 books available in e-book form, some including full illustrations, as bedtime reading for children of several age levels.
It wasn't until recently that the e-book format provided a conduit for sharing this author's quirky free-rhyming story style to a broader international readership. Peter's Canadian home-grown originality has been well-received, with new myths like the 'Snow Alligators', 'The Immovable Rock', 'The Very Last Apple', 'Lou and Stu' which are poised to become creative milestones. His newest soon to be published book, 'Three Old Men and Their Teddy' is another unique and cre
ative addition to this author's contributions.
Kristina Jacobs
Kristina Jacobs is an author who lives in Minnesota. Her children's stories are "kid-tested and approved" by her kids Orion and Aurora.
She is the author of two children's books: Orion and the Land of the Tomatoes and Sambala the Mighty and Mimba the Wanderer.
Chris Raven
Chris Raven was born in south London just shy of 50 years ago. He originally started out in Theatre in the 1980s but he became side-tracked by health and social care, where he has made his living for the past 20 or so years. More recently he has found his way back to the creative arts by contributing a number of short stories to the Indie collaboration’s series of free anthologies. He has also been coordinating a shared writing project with other new writers called ‘Tall Stories’.
Dani J Caile
After a lifetime of reading clones and a decade of proofreading coffee table books, Dani J Caile began writing in 2011 and has written many books, including 'Man by a tree', 'The Bethlehem Fiasco', 'The Rage of Atlantis', the infamous 'Manna-X' and his latest 'How to Build a Castle in Seven Easy Steps', published by Line by Lion Publications.
Peter John
Peter John was born in Bromley Kent, England in 1973. He gained an interest in creative writing at the age of 14 and was published during the 1990s in several poetry anthologies.
Happily Married to Jo since 1996 and currently living in Sidcup Kent, not so far from the tree.
Alan Hardy
Hi kids! My name’s Alan Hardy. I’m married, and I’ve got one daughter. What’s my job? I’m a teacher. Sorry about that… I like writing poetry, and all sorts of different stories. I hope you like some of them.
Margaret Wiese
Margaret Wiese was born in 1925 in Sandstone, Minnesota. She died in 1985. She was a wife and mother to 4 children and lived for many years in Philomath, Oregon where her husband had a saw mill.