Boat Ride on the MV Senator

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. I help him remember.

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! 

Know what? We're on a boat ride. The ship has a name. It's  The Senator.  The boat goes up and down the Detroit River. The river is right by our house on Sparkle Road. It's a pretty big boat, you know. The Senator can carry 200 good citizens on a trip.

There is good food to eat on the boat.  There is a big barbecue. I l-o-v-e barbecue, don't you? They can give you root beer and Smarties, if you ask ahead of time. We ride up and down the river. There's lots to see. We pass by salties and lakers. Those are really BIG ships. They're full of cargo.

James knows a poem about ships. It goes like this-

Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir, 
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.

Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus,
Dipping through the Tropics by the palm-green shores,
With a cargo of diamonds,
Emeralds, amythysts,
Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores.

Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack,
Butting through the Channel in the mad March days,
With a cargo of Tyne coal,
Road-rails, pig-lead,
Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays. 


THE END.

I always say, "The End" so you know the poem is finished. That's a good idea, you know.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Do good deeds. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house! We can ride on The Senator together! Okay! Over and out!"