Cheii’s (Grandpa’s) Big Red Truck

My Cheii’s (grandpa’s) truck coming up the dirt road.

A big old cloud of dust behind him.

 

My Cheii’s (grandpa’s) truck, A BIG RED TRUCK!

BIG knobby tires, BIG white mirrors,

With a flat bed and stack rack.

Grumble, Grumble shake, shake!! Up the dirt road.

Beep! Beep!

 

SQEEEEEAKK!!

Cheii’s (grandpa’s) truck comes to a stop.

“Thomas, let’s go to the store,” he hollers.

Skip and a hop I don’t stop to get into the truck.

Cheii’s (grandpa’s) BIG RED TRUCK!

 

Beep! Beep!

Down the road we go!

Dashboard rattling,

Empty pop cans rattling,

Grumble, Grumble shake, shake!! Down the dirt road.

 

Up and down the hills we go.

“Look, Look,” Sam and his sheep.

One old man and his sheep,

Beep, Beep, we scare Sam’s sheep.

With that old man there is no time to sleep!

 

BIG RED TRUCK Beep, Beep.

Grumble, Grumble shake, shake!! Down the dirt road.

Toolbox rattling,

Flatbed rattling,

Down the road we Go!

 

Slow DOWN!!! Bump. Bump.

There’s Grandpa Johnny,

He is at the windmill getting water,

Clug, Clug… he fills each jug.

Beep, Beep! Grandpa and I wave to Johnny.

 

BIG RED TRUCK Beep, Beep.

Grumble, Grumble shake, shake!! Down the dirt road.

Baby sheep bottle rattling,

Stack rack rattling,

Down the road we Go!

 

The curve in the road, the grinding of gears.

With every shift, hard on your ears.

What a Hot, Hot day.

Grandma Alice stands in her cornfields,

Fighting gawking black crows.

Beep, Beep! The crows go flying.

 

BIG RED TRUCK Beep, Beep.

Grumble, Grumble shake, shake!! Down the dirt road.

Hat holder rattling,

Truck bumper rattling,

Down the road we Go!

 

Oh NO!! Oh No!!

Someone is stuck. “Look Grandpa Dan’s truck is stuck.”

Stuck, Stuck in sand.

Stuck, Stuck in quicksand.

Cheii’s (grandpa’s) truck, tugs and pulls!

Yink-Yank, tug and pull!

Beep, Beep!! Out goes Dan’s truck.

 

Keer-Klonk! Keer-Clunk

One speed bump at a time, across the old treachery bridge.

Keer-Klonk! Keer-Clunk

No water, just a dried-up wash.

Keer-Klonk!

The last speed bump… across the old rickety bridge.

 

At last the store is in sight.

SQEEEAKK!!

Cheii’s (grandpa’s) truck comes to a stop.

Cheii’s (grandpa’s) Big Red Truck guzzles gas.

Inside the store my grandpa and I go.

With a Big Red soda pop, Frito corn chips,

Loretta’s Pie, and Peanut Pattie out the store we go.

 

BIG RED TRUCK Beep, Beep.

Grumble, Grumble shake, shake!! Up the dirt road.

 

Keer-Klonk! Keer-Clunk

One speed bump at a time, across the old treachery bridge.

Keer-Klonk! Keer-Clunk

No water, just a dried-up wash.

Keer-Klonk!

The last speed bump… across the old rickety bridge.

 

BIG RED TRUCK Beep, Beep.

Grumble, Grumble shake, shake!! Up the dirt road.

Fast, Fast.

Zoom, Zoom, Grumble, Shake! Shake!

Pass the mounds of sand dunes.

 

BIG RED TRUCK Beep, Beep.

Grumble, Grumble shake, shake!! Up the dirt road.

The curve in the road, the grinding of gears.

Pass Grandma Alice’s cornfield.

 

BIG RED TRUCK Beep, Beep.

Grumble, Grumble shake, shake!! Up the dirt road.

Slow DOWN!!! Bump. Bump.

Pass the windmill, now filled with thirsty cows.

 

BIG RED TRUCK Beep, Beep.

Grumble, Grumble shake, shake!! Up the dirt road.

Up and down the hills we go.

Sam and his sheep under the shade of the big, big tree.

 

My Cheii’s (grandpa’s) truck, A BIG RED TRUCK!

BIG knobby tires, BIG white mirrors,

With a flat bed and stack rack.

Grumble, Grumble shake, shake!! Up the dirt road.

Beep! Beep!

Away we go!

Charmayne Klah (Diné) is a student at Navajo Technical University.