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 1 2
gauge 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.
I just love a story with a happy ending, don't you? Thanks Clay!
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