The Cowboy Way

This was an epic moment.  I mean seriously - we had Riders in the Sky doing their classic "Cowboy Way" pose, with Madison right there in the middle.  These guys were just plain awesome.  Of course, the concert was fantastic - it was a tribute to Roy Rogers, with plenty of other material thrown in as well.  We had front row seats for this.  Madison sat dead center, as we bought these tickets quite some time ago.  Yes, they did "Woody's Round-up" and "Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl."  But they did plenty of other great songs as well, and threw in a lot of humor along the way.  Madison was laughing a lot, really enjoying the show.

At intermission, we bought the "Tribute to Roy Rogers" CD, and also got a mini-poster for the guys to sign afterwards.  And they did sign it, along with the many others that were wanting their stuff signed.  But after the crowds were gone, these guys came out from behind the desk to pose for a picture with Madison, and it was simply stunning.  They were so kind to her, to us, and just the most genuine sort of performers treating fans the right way.  Madison just loved it.

This is our second time seeing Riders in the Sky, and our second time enjoying the show so much.  Daddy even got one of Too Slim's famous 'cac-ties' to wear a little later.

As you could imagine, this was the centerpiece of the day here.  We did some work-related things, including writing an oddball skit for Spartanburg's Free Chapel.  Seriously, I had no idea what props or people they had to work with.  So they told me they have two adult actors, a few gorilla costumes and a fireman costume.  It sort of made for a "Who's Line is it Anyway?" kind of moment.  So... this is what I wrote:

HOST:  There's a new mascot in town - have you heard?
            He's at the fire department in Spartanburg

HOST:  Now most of the time it's a nice spotted pet,
            yes a dalmatian is usually the one to get

HOST:  But the fire department here is quite odd
            They've got a gorilla on the fire squad!

FIREFIGHTER and GORILLA enters STAGE RIGHT

HOST:  Okay, lots of questions.  Why on earth do that?
            Here the fire chief said, as he took off his hat

CHIEF:  "At the station, if joy is something you thirst
             You can only find it when you put others first!"

GORILLA and FIRE CHIEF exit.

HOST:  Oh, I see!  I remember!  It's suddenly clear!
             Let me tell a story that you just have to hear.

HOST    It was not long ago, I'll remember always
             A building downtown caught a terrible blaze

HOST puts child volunteer on top of small ladder, or partway up a taller ladder.

FIRE CHIEF enters, gesturing for everyone to stay back

HOST:  "The fire chief arrived, and saw fire all around
              So he brought out his hose, and watered it down!

FIRE CHIEF squirts a few times into the crowd.

HOST:  "Most people were safe, but oh, such terrible luck!
              One child at the top of the building was stuck!

HOST:    He cried with despair,

FIRE CHIEF overdoes it with crying.

HOST:    "For his hook and ladder were broke!
               Yes, it's bad grammar...

FIRE CHIEF points at child volunteer.

FIRE CHIEF:  "Look!  He/She's starting to choke!"

CHILD VOLUNTEER needs to pretend to be choking, coughing, here.  Maybe some encouragement from HOST is needed...

HOST:     "It's true, as all of the smoke filled the air...
                The crowd cried in anguish, and utter despair!

HOST:      (to audience)  Go on.  Cry!

HOST:      For a dog or dalmatian couldn't make that climb
                No, there was no one at the station who'd make it on time.

HOST:     The fire chief was filled with sadness and gloom
                It seemed as if our poor child here... was doomed!

HOST:      When out of the crowd there emerged such a sight
                Escaping from the zoo when the timing was right

GORILLA enters STAGE RIGHT

HOST:      It was a gorilla, stepping up!  Yes, he would try!
                He'd climb that building, and he would climb high!

HOST:      If King Kong could do it, then yes so could he
                The gorilla saved this victim, who then squealed with glee.

HOST:      Squeal, kid.

HOST:     The gorilla brought the victim down to ground floor
                And the crowd who was there, why, they let out a roar!

HOST:     (if needed) Here's the part where you cheer really loud.

HOST:     The day was saved, but the question was there
                The gorilla escaped the zoo, so why should he care?

HOST:      He could have been free, escaping the zoo
                Why come back here to do what you do?

HOST:      Or 'did.'

GORILLA brings kid volunteer and FIRE CHIEF together for a group hug.

HOST:      Ah, and here's where we learn our lesson again
                It's the point where the fire chief made a new friend.

HOST:      He said

CHIEF:  "At the station, if joy is something you thirst
              You can only find it when you put others first!"

HOST:    So the station adopted the gorilla that very day.
              And he works to help people.  He's good that way.

HOST:    To this day you'll see him helping every girl and boy
               Because he knows the secret to finding real joy.

HOST:     Not just at the station, if joy is something you thirst
               You can only find it when you put others first."

HOST:     The end.

CAST BOWS

So ... yeah.  We thought that was pretty good for essentially an improv situation there.  Anyway, the rest of the day was spent with piano practice and a some work with Madison's fasting devotional.  We watched a bit from the Disney Pecos Bill segment of "Melody Time," the part that has Roy Rogers in it.  I think Roy is in "Son of Paleface" with Bob Hope as well, which we may watch later.  It seems as if we have ourselves a cowboy theme in the works, having seen "Pecos Bill" last October.

But the bit thing we watched tonight was "Huck Finn," a movie with Frodo Baggins, or Elijah Wood at least.  And the part of Jim was played by the preacher in "The Preacher's Wife."  Having just read the book, Madison thought it was decent, although there was some stuff that was skipped or altered.

The whole time, we've had this nice cozy fire in the fireplace.  Yes, it's cold outside again.  Cold and wet, which is perfect weather for a fire in the fireplace.

We did some more reading after that, just before bedtime.  We finished our Jack Sparrow book yesterday, so until we find the next book in that series, we had to pick up another book.  This one is a Christmas present, the latest Rush Revere book.  Madison has her Liberty doll with her, and the two of them snuggled under the blankets as we read the latest time-traveling book.  This time around, they've met the First Lady, the wife of President Madison.

Wait.  That got her attention.  President Madison?  Yes, Daddy said.  There was a President James Madison.  Oh, Madison replies.  She thought it was a girl President.  Daddy said not yet.  Probably some day there will be a girl president.  Hopefully not next year, but maybe some day!