Burma-Shave
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I think anyone out there over 60 who grew up in the good old USA,
Remembers Burma-Shave advertisements back then in their day.
This poem recalls some of the entertainment provided by them,
As we traveled the highways with our parents way back then.
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Burma-Shave
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Back in the fifties we traveled to Sulphur Springs in a 1951 ford,
Mom made pimento cheese sandwiches that we could afford,
To eat on the way, so my Dad didn’t stop unless we had to pee.
Or he had to fill the car up with leaded gasoline or to pay a toll fee.
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So on the way during a 10 hour drive, we looked for things to do.
Along the highway were a series of red signs with white letters too.
That Burma – Shave had put up to advertise their shaving cream.
The first ones were pure advertising but we’re fun to be seen.
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Later the signs began to get better as they added fun things,
Some of the sayings were a lot of fun to read and did start to sing.
They were very easy to read and placed just far enough apart,
That we had time to laugh out loud before the next one did start.
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After a while, they got funnier and even our parents got a whoop,
We kept close watch for Burma-Shave signs in our ford coupe.
And we all got excited wanting to read their latest creations,
For several years they had the best advertising in our big nation.
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The highway signs were such a big hit, they used them as reminders,
To drive safely with the new humorous sign Burma-Shave advertisers.
We all loved to read these signs as we rode in our car so bored,
Just hoping more Burma-Shave signs for us were in store.
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It seems like they changed those signs yearly as we made our trips.
So we looked forward to reading the new signs with safety tips.
Some were hard Corp and were meant to shake people up some.
As was the following which was a little scary for the young ones.
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They even did one series about a having a bad automobile wreck,
And mangling a young lady beyond recognition,what the heck?
But we still loved to read them when we saw them on the road,
As it gave us something to talk about to lighten our boring load.
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I even recall one series about a guy getting run over by a train,
As he tried to get across the crossing as on the edge he remained,
Until he was hit by the train and was squashed in the wreck,
These mangled people got some attention, but no real respect.
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There’s one series Burna- Shave never did show to us back then,
So I made a more likely series up myself just to show it to them.
Because it’s more likely than the series published back when,
We were all reading those highway signs they did to us send.
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By Bill
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Thanks for reading Burma – Shave,
Bill