STORY BEHIND KLIP KLOP KLAPP
Earl Klapp, one of the nicest guys
you could want to meet, was working in the Mounted Squad patrolling
Stanley Park on horseback. Earl got down off his horse, Brigadier,
to assist a stalled motorist. Brigadier was a very popular and
gentle horse, but also had a stubborn streak and a mind of his
own.
Earl had just finished up and turned
to remount his trusty horse, when Brigadier decided he was going
to go for a walk on his own. Of course, this couldn't be on one
of the back roads or trails where there would be no witnesses
to his plight. Oh no, this happened at rush hour on a road that
leads onto the highway and was crowded with rush-hour commuters.
Earl lunged for the reigns , but missed and ended up with a handful
of the horse's tail. Well, apparently this was the funniest thing
you could want to see, a police horse trudging up the road, with
a Sergeant in full uniform being dragged behind him like a water
skier.
Earl eventually lost his grip. The
motorist that Earl had helped, after he had stopped laughing,
offered Earl a ride to catch up to his horse. Earl gratefully
accepted and the motorist took him up the road away so Earl was
in front of Brigadier. So like any good old fashioned cowboy movie,
you could say Earl headed him off at the pass.
Earl himself thought this story
was funny enough for a poem, and it was he who told me the story.
Well he and I were almost in tears we were laughing so hard while
he was telling it. Now I am sharing it with you.