The Cliffhouse Gang

A cheer went up. 

The Cliffhouse Gang preformed their secret celebratory handshake in what was left of the Cliffhouse.  It stood slantwise and seemed sad at the sudden loss of some of it's parts.  It's window and door, which could be imagined as parts of a face seemed to stare out at the ocean with resignation and foreboding.  It would take the first November storm to blow it off it's foundations and into the unruly hands of the ocean.  The gophers were angry at both the use of their brethren and of the upset to their home.  They chittered and squeaked, the sound of which would make Steve wile.

"Let's go," he said.  "I'm about to wile."

"How much time before you wile?" Asked Bob.

"About 4-5 mins."

"Arnold, why don't you say a few words?" Bob suggested.

Arnold clasped his hands and hung his head.  The rest of the Cliffhouse gang did likewise.

"Cliffhouse," he said.  "You've been a shelter from the storm.  You've been a light on an otherwise cloudy day.  You have received us with open mouth, as it were.  You have tolerated, nay, welcomed our most heinous debauches, and for that, and other things, we are grateful.  We're sorry to say goodbye, but one day, sometime in the future, or maybe the past, depending on your notions of time, and the direction it flows, we will all be reunited and make merry, and take comfort within your walls, and we'll paint smiles on you, whether you like it or not."

The Cliffhouse members raised their arms and dropped them down and said, "Hiya!"

Arnold grabbed the houses idol, held it up as though in benediction and put it around his neck.  He did the special solemn dance of respect and praise to the stomping beat of Cliffhouse members.  The dance was finished with a quiet procession out through the entrance door where the sun was blinding.

Sunny and Cher stood facing the Cliffhouse at the cliff's edge.

The Cliffhouse members gathered at the side of the house and stared at it.  Some tears ran, but they were blamed on the wind.  Phil went so far as to pat the house's side which was unanimously considered ridiculous.

"Now that we're leaving the Cliffhouse, are we still the Cliffhouse gang?" wondered Dave.

"Of course," Jim said.  "If we can't keep her alive on the cliff, we'll keep her alive in our name."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"This is all quite touching men," Cher said from underneath her parasol.  "But we're not getting any younger and our escape won't make itself."

"True enough," Jim said.  "We'll miss you, old girl."

Each member bowed toward the house and flourished his arm in an act of reverence.

"Let's go," Steve said.  "I'm about to wile."