The Wandering Ranger. . .

Note: At the end of this poem, you'll find out more about what inspired it and its unusual main (human, not car) character!

The Wandering Ranger In The Blue Toronado

(The Legend Of Marshall Ennis Mitchell)

This is the story of a modern-day hero
Who has a heart of gold.
Right after he was born in 1936,
His Maker threw away the mold!
Do you want to know who I'm talking about?
Marshall Mitchell is his name--
He's the wandering ranger in the blue Toronado
Who's brought Franklin, Indiana fame!

He bought his car new in '66
While teaching high school history.
Fifteen years later, he changed his career--
But his car was a different story!
Do you want to know who I'm talking about?
Marshall Mitchell is his name--
He's the wandering ranger in the blue Toronado
Who's brought Franklin, Indiana fame!

He became a seasonal ranger
Who went from place to place.
At Mammoth Cave, Springfield, and the Everglades,
He became a familiar face.
And, way up north to the Indiana Dunes,
He made his way one fall--
Yes, the wandering ranger in the blue Toronado
Was really having a ball!

Once, he and his car went to photograph
Every courthouse in the Hoosier State--
They're among nearly fifty-thousand slides
In his whole collection of great
Entertainment. How he loves to show them
To a warm, receptive crowd!
Yes, this wandering ranger in the blue Toronado
Will make you cheer long and loud!

He'll ask a tourist, "Where are you from?"
And, after he finds out,
He'll rattle off a fact or two
About the place. No doubt
He is among the very best
At Trivial Pursuit--
This wandering ranger in the blue Toronado
Is a genius, to boot!

Yes, this man truly is a modern-day hero
And a darn-good ranger, too--
Returning tourists are quick to tell him:
"I always ask for you!"
Do you want to know who I'm talking about?
Marshall Mitchell is his name--
He's the wandering ranger in the blue Toronado
Who's brought Franklin, Indiana fame!

One day, he chose to settle down
In that place we call Kentucky
And work full-time at Mammoth Cave--
The Bluegrass State got lucky!
One April day in '87,
He came to work all smiles,
Telling all who would listen that his blue Toronado
Had gone three-hundred-thousand miles!

But change must come to all of us
(Be it bad or be it good).
Old blue was getting up in years
And Marshall thought, "I should
Send her off to rest in pieces
In that Junkyard In The Sky.". . .
His eyes grew kinda misty
As he waved a last good-bye.

So, now, you know the story of a modern-day hero
Who has a heart of gold.
Right after he was born in 1936,
His Maker threw away the mold!
Do you want to know who I'm talking about?
Marshall Mitchell is his name--
He's the permanent ranger in the Delta 88
Who's bringing Cave Country fame!


Footnotes: I first met Marshall back in 1985 (July 17, 1985, to be exact) when I was down to Mammoth Cave for a special reason: I was making arrangements to become the first person known to write a novel while 267 feet underground in what is known as the Snowball Room (at least, the first person known to since it became a national park--though, likely, before, too). That's a story in inself, and I'll save it for later.

I'm also going to save some of the interesting details of our meeting for later, also, as they're a story in themselves.

But there was in time in 1986 when Marshall was having an attack of low self-esteem and really putting himself down.

He would give this wonderful presentation about the late cave explorer, Floyd Collins, that would be ended (all of this being done by candlelight or lantern light) with a recording of The Death Of Floyd Collins by Vernon Dalhart.

I thought that it would be nice if Marshall had a song written about him telling the world what a special person he was, so I began to play around with some lyrics and, eventually, came up with this poem.

However, I never printed it anywhere until January of 1996 (as Marshall would be turning 60 on the 24th of that month) when it appeared in an issue of a great "little" monthly poetry publication called Chicken Soup.

At the time this was printed, Marshall had been working as a permanent ranger at Mammoth Cave for many years but had decided to work at Natchez National Historical Park from 1990 until he retired in 1998.

He now lives back in his hometown of Franklin, Indiana with his wife, Judy, and son, Mark (who is a day older than my goddaughter, Michelle, and also shares a birthday with Johnny Angel's younger son).