THE MAN FROM CAPE GIRARDEAU
by Dave Backs, 2-19-21
“God save us from do-gooders.” Mark Twain
For some he was a Father, for others, a Grandfather,
But he was a wise voice when “the big three” was all there was,
Take the complicated and make it a simple line,
He was the Thomas Paine, Mark Twain, the Will Rogers, the sage of our time.
For over 30 years, I listened to that voice,
Came to regard him as a wise Uncle,
As I would travel from one appointment to the next,
Part of my family.
I loved his humour: “Talent on loan from God!”
That “harmless little fuzzball,”
“With one arm tied behind my back, just to make it fair!”
You could hear the wink in his voice, it really wasn’t fair.
For some he was a Father, for others, a Grandfather,
But he was a wise voice when “the big three” was all there was,
Take the complicated and make it a simple line,
He was the Thomas Paine, Mark Twain, the Will Rogers, the sage of our time.
Above it all, I knew he loved this nation,
And all the people in it,
He marveled at “ordinary people doing extraordinary things,”
That our Founding Documents made us unique, an exceptional thing.
Our Constitution that established not only “the separation of power;”
But took the best elements of democracy, executive and judicial,
Our “Bill of Rights” which no government could reduce; had not the power,
All explained in our Declaration of Independence and The Federalist Papers.
For some he was a Father, for others, a Grandfather,
But he was a wise voice when “the big three” was all there was,
Take the complicated and make it a simple line,
He was the Thomas Paine, Mark Twain, the Will Rogers, the sage of our time.
He believed that America, our “nation of mutts,” was “exceptional,”
Our values, brought from every nation in the world,
Above all, that our Rights were from God not man,
Rarely talked religion, I know he believed the words written in red.
Though worth half a billion,
He’d always go home during the Holidays,
Never lost that touch with the land and her people,
He was family you see, it’s really just that simple.
For some he was a Father, for others, a Grandfather,
But he was a wise voice when “the big three” was all there was,
Take the complicated and make it a simple line,
He was the Thomas Paine, Mark Twain, Will Rogers, the sage of our time.