Our adopted daughter Jennifer Bradley – a Physical Education Director in the local school district – jokingly complained on Facebook yesterday that a certain national restaurant chain discriminated against those, like her, whose name had nothing to do with Christmas and therefore, unlike another of our daughters – Christina Noel (Anderson) Klas (Mrs. Klas, born on Christmas day even) – did not qualify for a free burger. I had suggested to Jennifer that ‘Bradley’ was the name of one of the reindeer wasn’t she?
I got to thinking about that and at 2 A.M. I turned on the lamp and sat up on the edge of the bed and wrote the following.
“Bradley, the Forgotten Reindeer.”
By Papa
Bradley the forgotten reindeer
Needs the world to right a wrong,
It shouldn’t be bright-bulb Rudolf
About whom we sing that song.
All of the other reindeer
Hang their antlered heads in shame,
Knowing were it not for Bradley,
They’d not be in the game.
It takes a fair amount of en-er-gy
To reach every house on Christmas Eve,
That Santa’s team was so out of shape
Was Bradley’s never-ending peeve.
So when the reindeer suffered yet another loss
Coach Santa came to say,
‘Bradley, with your PE insight,
Won’t you get our team ready for that night?’
Then how the reindeer hated her
Huffing and puffing in mis-er-y,
But post-championship now want to thank her
For helping them make his-tor-y.
