Puff That Mighty Dragon

Today I traveled up to our local Value Village store to scout out items that have been well loved and are being offered a new journey in new homes. I generally stop at the VV boutique once in a while to snoop about to see if there is anything that would like to come home with me. Being a guy, I head straight to the back of the store where we find tools, lighting supplies, etc. all the exciting “guy” stuff. As I walk through the store, I must pass by the dreaded, dusty old books. You know, things that have words in them, I happen to have allergies to many of them focusing my mind to the phrase, no time to read… It is something that is not on the top of my list or ways to pass time. Perhaps once in a blue moon I will pick up a fiction book to read for pleasure… however, that might be another story for another day.

During my stroll through the book section I came across The Reader's Digest Family Song Book from the 70's. In it are many songs that took me back to my childhood, but also, to a group of friends who often sing around our piano during our annual Christmas party. This song book boasts 250 plus pages of memorable songs for the aging population and yes… I include myself in that statement, however young at heart. That being said, that scoundrel Puff that Magic Dragon and his side kick Jackie Paper, were hiding midway through the book. Now in all honesty, this was my favorite song as a child putting me into a cerebral trans thinking how wonderful it would be to have a pet dragon, fire breathing no less. This gossamer fable is just that, a fable, or so I thought, until one day… I saw Jackie Paper at the local grocery store, waiting to go home with his puff buddy. I suspected by the look of Jackie’s friend that Jackie would be in for a good time meeting many new friends that would share Puff fancy stuff around the table… perhaps other’s brought the strings and ceiling wax to the party, who really knows, although I hear still hear stories today about friends sharing the fancy stuff thirty plus years ago. You see, Jackie, Puff's friend, comes in little green packages that you can see right through his personality, Jackie rolls his friends into fits of laughter with other “fancy stuff”, living in British Columbia, I get it… my question is… did author’s Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow really write this song to mean this or is this just one of those urban legends… I’ll take that the interpretation as an urban legend as the song remains my childhood anthem.
You Go PUFF and I don't mean bring on the fancy stuff!