A little girl with brown, curly hair slowly walks alongside a busy highway. She is crying. She starts to walk into traffic, not knowing where she’s going. All of a sudden a gigantic, psychedelic-painted bus screeches to a halt in front of her. The door opens and Keith is the first to hit the gravel. He grabs the girl in his groovy-striped arms. The girl is trembling. Keith asks her name.
Shirley is the second to get off the bus. She looks at the girl and then tells Keith, “Don’t bother asking her name. She’s blind and deaf.”
Laurie’s the third off the bus and asks, “I wonder if her family lives around here.”
Danny says, “She’s wearing a weird, old dress. She’s probably a hillbilly, or worse.”
Tracey punches him in the arm and says, “She not hillbilly. She scared.”
The cars keep honking behind the bus. Reuben yells from inside the bus, “Hey! We have a show to make and we’re already late!”
Shirley makes a quick decision. “Alright, kids. Bring her on the bus.”
They lead her onto the bus and sit her down. Laurie strokes her head and Tracey gives her a soda pop. A few hours later they enter Albuquerque, New Mexico, where their gig is. They quickly unpack their gear, do sound check and eat a delicious buffet dinner finally hitting the stage. As they sing, “Morning Rider on the Road”, they look down and see that the little girl is dancing to the music, and is staring up and waving at each of them. The girl’s dancing is so infectious that the whole room starts to gyrate with psychedelic fervor.
Afterwards, the little girl walks up to them and says, “Gee, thanks for picking me up. I was blind. I couldn’t see. I was deaf. I couldn’t hear. But as soon as I entered Albuquerque, the Land of Enchantment, it was like I was switched on. I could see and hear everything. And I want to thank you so much. Because now I know how to get home.”
Shirley smiles and says, “Thank you so much. That’s the kindest thing I think I’ve ever heard. When you’re on the road as much as we are, life can be hectic. Concert to concert. Buffet to buffet. But the reason we do it is because of people like you. What’s your name?”
“Helen is my first name Keller is my last name.”
Danny says, “I knew that was an old dress.”
Everyone laughs.
