Stu McNue’s:For Hilda P.

"Brother’s Keeper"

"Here she comes again!"

"Don’t she ever sleep?"

"That’s Hilda Jackson Ralph my friend,

she really earns her keep!"

"Why she’s up before the sun,

and goes to bed long after dark."

"It’s like her work is never done,

but she loves this refuge- park!"

"The things that woman does for you,

Why, she should have a beeper!"

"While we’re at it, get her two,

‘cause she’s your brother’s keeper!"

"There’s feed to mix and food to fix,

Holes to dig and poles to rig,

Spray us down for fleas and tics,

And for your dinner kill the pig!"

"Then she pays the doctor bills,

And when you’re sick she gets your pills!"

And that night that Angel had a fever,

Hilda Jackson didn’t leave her!"

"She stayed the night,

While Angel slept,

And by candlelight,

The vigil kept!"

"And something else my dear ‘ole friend,

I tell you Ralph it’s true,

When your lunch comes out the other end,

She’s the one who cleans it up for you!"

"You’d think that she would have enough

Her pile of work can’t get much deeper.

The life she lives gets kinda’ tough

When she’s your brother’s keeper!"

"Ask Uncle Don and he will say,

Aunt Hilda’s quite a gal.

It’s because of her, we’re here today,

Ole’ Ralph my feline pal!"

I asked Don yesterday

‘cause he tells me stuff you know

I says "Don, without this place to stay,

Where would us Tigers go?"

Then he looked me in the eye,

And I thought that he would cry.

When he rubbed me on my back,

He said "Give Hilda thanks for that!"

 Then he whispered in my ear:

"Sam," he said "I’ll make this clear."

"She’s the reason you’re all here,

Tigers, lions, bear, and deer!"

"Without Hilda don’t you see,

This fantastic place could never be.

She’s why you’re where your at,

And you can thank Aunt Hilda Sam: for that!"

"With that he scratched my ears.

"Ralph? The guy was close to tears!"

"If not for Hilda, Ralph it’s true,

He said we’d all be in a Zoo!"

"A ZOO? Oh No, you’re kidding me!"

"A zoo is not the place to be!"

"Why I’d rather be a dog, I would,

"I could even be a hog, I could!"

"Then spend my life inside a zoo,

Where people pay to stare at you!"

Where they throw us peanuts, corn, or gum,

And treat us Tigers like we’re dumb!"

"Why I’d rather be a tree,

Or a fish deep in the sea,

Sam, I’d even be a flea,

But a Zoo is not for me!"

"And that’s not all he told me Ralph,

I know you thought it was.

But all these things that Hilda does,

She does them all because,

 "We’re like her kids, her very own,

She loves us Ralph it’s true!

The stuff she does: I should have known,

It’s out of love for me and you!"

 Husbands Note: For my wife Hilda, from myself  and all the staff here at Turpentine Creek, for your tireless efforts, love, and devotion, without which this place might cease to exist!

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