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The Song Challenge:   A Party for the Passing of Popular Popsicled Pachyderm Poop Picker -- A memorial was held last weekend in Springfield, Missouri, for a popular circus elephant groomer whose body was frozen when he died three months ago so his friends could attend the funeral.   The funeral was held under the big top and included circus music, food and even an elephant-drawn wagon carrying the casket. In the center ring, the main attraction was Albert "Shorty" Sharp, who stood 4 feet, 7 inches tall, when he wasn't on his tiptoes grooming pachyderms. Sharp, who spent 50 years in the circus, died May 12 of heart failure while traveling through Wisconsin with George Carden Circus International. After the funeral festivities, Sharp's body was taken to a cemetery on the wagon, drawn by the elephants he cared for.   "My circus was out on the road when Shorty passed away and only a few of his friends would have made the funeral," said ringmaster and owner George Carden. So he decided to freeze Sharp's body at a Springfield funeral home until all of his friends could come. "This is not so much a funeral as it is a celebration to say 'thank you' to Shorty for his dedication," Carden said Thursday. "Shorty was a little man with a great big heart." Like most circus employees, Carden said, Sharp was completely dedicated to his work. Sharp groomed elephants for circuses in Florida and Texas, and even tended to Bimbo, a water-skiing elephant who appeared in a 1950s TV series called "'Circus Boy.' "In the circus, there is no such thing as calling in sick or getting tired, the show must always go on," Carden said. "Shorty was always there. He had no family, so he lived and breathed the elephants."

Mr. Shorty by Pseudolus
(Tune:  Mr. Bojangles)

The was a man named Shorty and he scooped a lot For Elephants
He brushed 'em up and he hosed 'em down even fed 'em some
some peanuts they loved
He jumped so high, Yeah he jumped so high
Just to wash off their knees.

He said his name was Shorty then he grabbed a stool
To boost him up
He grabbed a brush and a big ol rag and washed 'em down
But still they stunk
But he didn't care, no he didn't care.
Cause a groomer's work is never done.....

Mr. Shorty, Mr. Shorty, Mr. Shorty, Short.

He said I brush, never in a rush, to finish up
I like my work
He said with tears, "For almost 50 years, this is all I've done
And my neck really hurts
He let go a laugh, I think that it was a laugh,
No wait I think it was a gasp!!

Mr. Shorty, Mr. Shorty, Mr. Shorty, Dead

His life did end now but all his friends are off to work
they're out of town
Looked high and low but no one's there to mourn the loss
Not even the clown
They put him on ice, Yeah they put him on ice
Until the circus comes to town

Mr. Shorty, Mr. Shorty, Mr. Shorty, Froze.

The Pachaderms, they all returned, and heard the news
Of Shorty's fate.
Their hearts were still, he's a popsicle, as hard as rock
Looks like they're too late
They pulled him around, they pulled him around
But thawed he stunk more than them

Mr. Shorty, Mr. Shorty, Mr. Shorty, Stinks....... 

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