Nick Name monikered all he met
with handles that explained
what were the things he noticed
that stuck most to Nick Name’s brain.

He’d say, “There goes Steamboat Sally
here comes Ragamuffin Joe!”
and Beany Fred and Jolly Jed
who if you saw you’d know

by those handles Nick Name issued
to organize his world
from Exotic Esmerelda
to the famed Non-Descript Girl.

Fewer things more
than The Duke on a Schwinn
embody the meaning
of Conveniently Texan

I got boots for fightin’ brutes
but love to sip from champagne flutes,
I get burrs on my spurs
but have a closet fulla’ furs.

There’s a Stetson on my head
on my belt a giant buckle,
but the aftershave I wear
comes from lovely honeysuckle.

Mama had me on the banks
of the mighty Rio Grande
but the outdoor life is one
of which I’ve never been a fan.

Rassle me from the Lone Star State
if you think you can
but if there’s one charge I won’t fight,
it’s I’m conveniently Tex-an.

The very first fall
feels more like a leap
from a high cliff in to crystal blue.

But a real fall is different
often going unseen
until it’s the thing catching you.

Don’t make me eat these donuts
Because I will, I swear
It may be almost dinnertime
But I don’t even care.

I’ll take down the powdered sugars,
All the crullers and old-fashioneds
With no concern how it offends
Those potatoes that you’re mashing

‘Cause I feel a little nuts and
Upsetting spuds won’t hold me back
From irrationally ingesting
A giant donut stack.

Will my appetite be ruined?
Let’s just say I’ll take that chance.
In this game of donut chicken
Try and push me and we’ll dance.

Click on the photo of JFK – here, stopping for donuts at a West Virginia store in 1960 – for more great HistoryinPics. (Photo: HistoryinPics)