[osreb]

An old prospector shuffled into town leading an old tired 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, have you ever danced?”

The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, “No, I never did
dance—and just never wanted to.”

A crowd had gathered quickly and 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 in
order to not get a toe blown off or his boots perforated was
soon hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet and
everybody was laughing fit to be tied.

When the 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 shotgun, and cocked both
hammers back. The loud, audible double 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 quiet was almost deafening. The
crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old
timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels. He found it
hard to swallow. The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man’s hands.

The old man said, “Son, did you ever kiss a mule’s ass?”

The young bully swallowed hard and said, “No, but I’ve always wanted to.”


There are two lessons for us all here:


1. Don’t waste ammunition.

2. Don’t mess with old people.