The Cowboy and the Kid  − 19 December, 2007

The Cowboy and the Kid rode into town perched atop their wild-eyed high-spirited stallions, their shining six guns cinched tight around their waists and tied off to their legs. The strings of their brightly lacquered straw cowboy hats were secured snug around their chins and their Sheriff's badges glinted in the late morning sun. They hitched their trusty steeds to the fence post and swaggered confidently into the local saloon. As they entered they quickly noted that their every move was being watched. They walked past evil, squint eyed, mustachioed, dark visaged bad guys named Blackie, Butch, and Killer Joe. Unphased, they swaggered up to the bartender(who bore an uncanny resemblance to their mother) and ordered milk. They were told they had to settle for Kool-Aid. The two cowboys acquiesced. As they swigged their poison, the Cowboy heard the badguys start to scheme on how to handle these two dangerous good guy hombres. He discerned that they would, in typical bad guy fashion, gang up and try to ambush the intrepid duo. "Watch out Kid," he cried. "Here they come!" "Let 'em come," answered the Kid. The brawl that followed would go down in the annals of Ozarkian Cowboy History. The Bad Guys mobbed the two stalwart heroes. But the Cowboy and the Kid were more than up to the fight. They lambasted an escalating assault from the badmen until the bartender told them to take their fight outside. Once outside the confines of the house--saloon, rather--there were no vexations to inhibit the wild freedom of the continued onslaught. The fist fight became a gunfight as well. It was hard to tell just how many villains there actually were. They seemed to be manufactured out of thin air. When the fight was finally over, the two young lawmen stood alone amidst the carnage, breathing hard but triumphant. They'd hated to do it, but it was the bad guys' own fault. They'd started it. A young school marm walked by them and stopped to survey the scene. 'Why don't one of you be the bad guy?' she asked. 'You could take turns.' The cowboys stared at her, aghast, as she turned and walked into the saloon. It was then they realized she was not the school marm after all, but a cheap floozy from the saloon. The thought of either of them going bad was beyond belief. Never! No wonder cowboys only kissed their horses. So the two lawmen, hats now hanging down their backs by the strings that secured them, jumped back astride their wild stallions and dashed off into the woods again. On to the next adventure awaiting the two Sheriffs of the Wild Wide Open Ozark Mountain Territory. The immortal Cowboys, The Cowboy and the Kid. Bushes and Weeds By Katie Sawicki (Again, an artist I discovered through emusic.com. This bitter sweet song reflects much of her music, well thought out full of imagery. It also reflects my relationships with all my brothers and sisters, both through blood and through other connections. Sorry for the sections I can't decipher, but I'd rather admit that than make something up.) They stood beautiful together We sobbed through their vows while you slouched in the corner with your sunglasses down And as we all clapped you continued to pour a drink you had started about three hours before And caterpillars fly but worms only grow Which one are you? And I saw you go climbing farther than me You went down to the valley where the cactuses seed Soak it all up and then spread it around Regrets of your own life Come tumbling down And in most ways I only followed your lead To our upbringing now we're just bushes and weeds (Chorus) And we've got hearts deeper than mud I laugh and I ache but you laugh and you drink And we are of the same (love or blood?) From the land of the lost I am (unclear lyrics) You spend most of your life only pushin' me in Little babies tend to cry but the big boys drink My friends talk about you a little more every week. You know the older I get the more I see there's more good in you than there's dirt on this earth Stop running from the weather (Chorus) And the sunsets you've seen cover most of this earth but have you seen our lives in reverse Oh, the one's you've hurt (Chorus)

Previous story  |  Next story