The
Gunslinger
An old prospector shuffled into the desert town of Mojave,
California leading a tired old mule. The old man headed straight for the only
saloon in town, to clear his parched throat.
He walked up to the saloon
and tied his old mule to the hitch rail.
As he stood there, brushing
some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of
the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the
other.
The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying,
"Hey old man, can you dance?"
The old man looked up at the gunslinger
and said, "No son, I don't dance... never really wanted to."
A crowd
had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're
gonna dance now!" and started shooting at the old man's feet.
The old
prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a
flea on a hot skillet.
Everybody standing around was laughing.
When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still
laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the
saloon.
The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a
double-barreled 12 gauge shotgun and cocked both hammers.
The loud
clicks carried clearly through the desert air. The crowd stopped laughing
immediately.
The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned
around very slowly.
The silence was deafening. The crowd watched as the
young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin
12gauge
barrels.
The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's
hands, as he quietly said;
"Son, have you ever kissed a mule's
ass?”
The
gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir... but...but I've always wanted
to."
There
are a few lessons for all of us here:
*Don't
be arrogant.
*Don't
waste ammunition.
*Whiskey
makes you think you're smarter than you are.
*Always
make sure you know who is in control.
*And
finally, don't screw around with old folks; they didn't
get old by being
stupid.
Thanks for the smile.
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