They wasn't afraid of setting the forest a fire this time Opal Simpson just about froze to death Alice had up and left Wendell Simpson again I am proud to learn you enjoy the column of Burton It bad when one had to go to town to see the neighbors This has been upside down week for Louie and Opal Simpson Opal and Louie Simpson run out of gas Simpson's was all that was to Burton Louie and Opal Simpson had a sick cow Louie Simpson stuck a nail in his foot The Simpson boys had got them a yo yo Reese Simpson stepped on another nail We never are satisfied with what we want The Simpsons had to go in town Louie and Opal Simpson hasn't got stuck These Simpson boys and Mother and Daddy was out throwing snow balls Not getting the Burton News They sure can be a pain in the neck when it is that a way If you ever seen one happy boy that Floyd Simpson was happy Well this Wednesday was no different than other Wednesday's / There goes our Prayer Meeting again / There was error in last week paper. I said there was only 6 weeks. There was 8 more weeks. Now there is 7 weeks. Eugene Simpson kicked a cow Floyd Simpson is kindly excited about graduating in about four more weeks. Sure hope he does. Chris Simpson had quite a breaking out. The doctor call it hives. But believe me, he was broke out. / If there is not one thing, there is something else. One of those cats that climbs over mud Chris Simpson stuck a cactus in his foot Joe Boring is home on leave / Bernece Simpson had such a headache she hardly knew what she was doing There was some business that was needed to be done Floyd Simpson says high school is more fun than grade school Sorry to hear about Mrs. Ima Rotten / Sometimes I think I want to put my head farther back under my wing Reese Simpson brought in his game that he had killed a mouse If there was more folks like all of you this world would be a better place to live			The Real Simpsons These are the chronicles of the real Simpsons (or "Simpson's," when we follow Opal's usage). They lived in Burton, Arizona, near Show Low, Arizona. Opal Simpson wrote a weekly column of the doings at Burton (population: maybe a dozen or so, give or take). Cast of Characters Opal Simpson (nee Henderson): the Dick Wick Hall of Burton, Arizona. Where nobody danced, that we know of, because Burton was a Baptist town. Wife of Louie Simpson: Husband of Opal Simpson and inventor of the 364-day flu, the remaining day being set aside for stepping-on-nails-and-cactus practice, a skill (as documented by Opal Simpson) evidently skipping one Simpson generation, consisting of The Simpson children: Vera, Eugene, and Wendell, and maybe Denny, but being liberally inherited among the next, which is to say, The Simpson grandchildren: Cheryell, Marva, Reese, Floyd, Chris, and maybe Mary, Machell (sometimes Michell), and Carlilla -- we're not sure. Using the Text at Left as an Index You can use the text at left as an index. Or, you can read it (vertically) as a poem. This is your choice. Reading the Text at Left (Vertically) as a Poem You can read the text at left (top to bottom or bottom to top) as a poem. Or, you can use it as an index. As an index, it's not all that good. A Button is appended at the end of each column. You can therefore ignore the index. Unless you like poetry. A Note on the Text Note: The text is difficult to read. What is Not Clear There could be messages to be found here, but you might have to work at it, because they may be beneath the surface. In addition, the text is difficult to read. Antepenultimate Section Heading (This section intentionally left blank.) Something Else Not Clear As of this writing (27jun2002), the largest wildfire in Arizona history menaces Burton, Arizona, as well as Show Low and the rest of the White Mountains. Whether the words of Opal Simpson are posted here in celebration or in memoriam is not yet manifest. [Answer: Celebration. Wahoo.] What is Clear These columns were published in the White Mountain Eagle (1956-74) in the years 1972 and 1973. They record things that happened to real people in and around the town of Burton, Arizona. Most of the contents of the world's newspaper archives might justly be labeled "Stuff That Seemed Important At The Time." The future can decide for itself, but Burton News still seems important to me.