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In the days of the Wild West, there was a young cowboy who wanted more than anything to be the greatest gunfighter in the world. He practiced every minute of his spare time, but he knew that he wasn’t yet first-rate and that there must be something he was doing wrong.
One Saturday night, as he was sitting in the saloon, he recognized an elderly man seated at the bar who had the reputation of being the fastest gun in the West in his day. The young cowboy took the seat next to the old-timer, bought him a drink, and told him the story of his great ambition. “Could you possibly give me some tips?” he asked. The old man looked him up and down and said, “Well, for one thing, you’re wearing your gun too high. Tie the holster a little lower down on your leg.” “Will that make me a better gunfighter?” asked the young man. “Yep, sure will,” said the old-timer. The young man did as he was told, stood up, whipped out his .44 and shot the bow tie off the piano player. “Yep,” said the old man, “cut a notch out of your holster where the hammer hits it. That’ll give you a smoother draw.” “Will that make me a better gunfighter?” asked the young man. “Yep, you bet it will,” replied the old-timer. The young man took out his knife, cut the notch, stood up, drew his gun in a blur, and shot a cufflink off the piano player. “Wow!” said the cowboy, “I’m learnin’ somethin’ here – got any more tips?” The old man pointed to a large can in a corner of the saloon. “See that axle grease over there? Coat your gun with it.” The young man went over to the can and smeared some of the grease on the barrel of his gun. “No,” said the old-timer, “I mean smear it all over the gun, handle and all.” “Will that make me a better gunfighter?” asked the young man. “Nope,” said the old-timer, “but when Wyatt Earp gets done playin’ the piano, he’s going to shove that gun up your ass, and it won’t hurt as much.” |