Wonderland 2021

C. The Caucus-Race and a Long Tale - #1 The Thimble

#1 "The Thimble"

A Gift for Redfeather

It’s July 4th and the final night of the biggest concert we scheduled for the town. The Reading Independence Day Extravaganza is about to end with a concert by none other than the country artist Marty Redfeather and his Rowdy Rednecks.

Twenty thousand people showed up in our little town for this concert. The committee for RIDE tried to decide what to give Marty as an appreciation gift. Months were spent on researching his likes and dislikes. We asked his manager, his band, his partner, and no ideas.

But finally last night I had an epiphany. The perfect gift came to me in a dream. But here I am onstage. And I got nothing.

“Thanks for coming folks. We sure do appreciate you all!” A big roar from the crowd greets me.

“Now if I can get Marty back out here. We from RIDE have a little surprise for him.”

But all I have now is a tiny button that says: “You are loved.” I nabbed it from a thrift store’s free bin. I felt it in my jeans pocket. What a deal. Seems like a worthless thing to give to this huge star.

Marty dutifully came back on stage. The crowd screamed, yelled, hooted, and hollered for several minutes. He waved to the multitude and sauntered over to me.

“Thank you, Marty, for coming to our little town and giving such a wonderful show. We surely appreciate it!”

More shouts and hoots and hollers.

Marty grabbed the microphone. “Now then, I thank you, Mr. Kevin Murphy. We sure do appreciate the folks of READING!”

Another big hoot and holler. This time I had to wait about five minutes before I could continue. Time to gather some words. What to say? The committee has already paid Marty. But this little gift is just to say a special thank-you.

“Okay, folks. Settle down. Marty, we want to give you a little something.”

I took the button out of my pocket. I placed it in his hand.

“The citizens of Reading want you to know “You Are Loved”. Thank you for coming and performing for us.”

Marty took the button and pinned it on his jacket. There were tears in his eyes, running down his face.

“Kevin,” he said, “you don’t know what this means. I had a button exactly like this years ago. My momma gave it to me. I lost it a while back. I didn’t think I’d ever get another. Thank you, everyone.”

”Come on now folks, a big round of applause for Marty Redfeather and his Rowdy Rednecks.”

The crowd went wild, as they say. Applause, cheers, then we set off the fireworks. Great ending for the concert.

It didn’t take long for Facebook to light up with the concert footage. Then the button started selling online. “You are Loved” became the hot item. Everyone wore one, in honor of Marty Redfeather and his mother.

W/C 488



Queen Norma Jean