Buffalo Gal It Is

Photo by Mohawk Canoes

 

Buffalo Gal won two to one. I didn’t care for Buffalo Gal when Jean suggested it simply because it didn’t have a ring to it. Buffalo Belle sounded better to me, but admittedly would be more fitting for a steam paddle-wheeler. A couple other of you folks brought up some good points that make Buffalo Gal seem more suited.

Carl Cole pointed out that “a rugged Royalex canoe with Kevlar skid plates needs a rugged name, Buffalo Gal.” Paula Martel added, “Gal…and dance by the light of the moon.” That sounded a bell (or belle) as I remembered that the line came from a song. I looked it up to find it was written by Arlo Guthrie. I like the lyrics. It goes:

As I was walking down the street,

A pretty girl I chanced to meet.

Buffalo gals won’t you come out tonight,

And we’ll dance by the light of the moon.

While Arlo Guthrie was born in New York, he was son of Woody Guthrie, of Okemah, Oklahoma. Maybe that brings it home a bit better for an Oklahoma canoe. Both father and son wrote songs of the country, of protest, and the blues. Anyhow, Buffalo Gal it is.