The Lusty Men

One of the most thrilling

and surely one of the most

dangerous rodeo events--

cowboys riding

the wild brahma bulls.

Unlike the bucking horse

used in rodeos

who will try to prevent

stepping on or kicking a rider,

the brahma bull will

purposely stomp a contestant

with his sharp hoofs

or rip the rider with his horns,

oftentimes causing

fatal injuries.

The brahma bulls you see here

are well-known for

their mean dispositions

and are particularly treacherous

because they're

the only type bull

that will charge a man

with their eyes open.

That's why you'll

never see a brahma bull

in the ring with a matador.

The first bull rider today,

one of the all-time greats,

Jeff McCloud, Bandera, Texas.

Jeff's coming out

on a bull called razor,

'cause he's given

a lot of cowboys

a close shave.

Contestants ride the bull

holding onto a loose rope,

sometimes called a bullrope,

the other hand free in the air.

Should the cowboy touch

the bull with his free hand

anytime during

his eight-second ride,

he will be disqualified.

Keep your eyes

on chute number 1.

Take him out!

Thanks to the alertness

of our rodeo clowns.

He may be shaken up a bit,

but he's walked away from

tougher spills than this.

Now take a look

over at chute number 2.

Shorty west

from blackton, Idaho,

on a bull called round trip.

Shorty must have bought

a one-way ticket.

All right, you under there,

back out nice and slow.

What are you doing

crawling around under my house?

I didn't think

nobody lived here.

Somebody lives here.

What are you doing

crawling under there?

I was looking for something

I thought I'd lost.

I used to save my money

in this tobacco can

when I was a kid

and my folks lived here.

With my 2 nickels

in it after 20 years.

2 nickels was a load

of money to me then.

You Connie McCloud's boy?

I'm Jeff McCloud.

I'm Jeremiah watrus.

Howdy.

There's some coffee

in the house.

Come on in and sit.

- Did you know my old man?

- Not personal.

Well, the place

ain't changed much.

I bought it at a tax auction.

Got it at my own price.

Now I know why.

Could have had more fun throwing my money

out the window.

It ain't changed much

in here, either.

- Wash up if you've a mind to.

- I washed this morning.

I was born in this room.

That ain't much to brag about.

Where you from these days?

Oh, I move around a lot.

I can't get over it.

In 20 years,

you'd think it'd change.

Some things never do.

But there's been changes.

Sun's got a little hotter,

a little more

earth's blowed away,

a little less water.

That's about all the changes.

What made you come back?

I don't know.

I always thought someday

I'd make enough money

to settle down

on the old place, run a few head.

- You got the money?

- I had it... Once.

- What happened?

- I got kind of sidetracked.

Women?

No. No, women

don't sidetrack me.

Something else.

I'll be 62 come march.

Maybe if I was married,

I might fix the place,

or if I had kids.

It is kind of lonely.

I like a place

that's lonely, private.

You been married?

I figure it this way...

Marriage, it's lonely,

but it ain't private.

You got anything you own?

What I started out with,

a strong back and a weak mind.

A shack, some rocky ground,

a spavined horse,

and a busted windmill...

That's all I got.

That's still more than me.

Yeah, but you ain't 62 yet.

You a thinking man?

Oh, I can get in

out of the rain,

that's about all.

Me, I'm a thinking man.

This is what I think.

One of the things that's wrong

is that all the books

and rules on success

is written by successful men.

That's wrong. Fellas like you and me'd

get a lot more help

if those books was written by failures.

That would make sense.

That cowhand from

the jackhammer ranch,

him and his wife play games.

Is that bad?

Reckon today they'll

want to remodel this kitchen.

About the only thing

around here they ain't fixed over.

In their mind's eye, of course.

Do it regular every Sunday...

Come prowling around

with calf eyes,

saying

how much they'd like to buy the place.

You don't need

no urging to sell, do you?

Moon talk.

Where's a ranch hand

going to get $5,000?

Well, I'll be getting on.

Figure to make

abilene by sundown.

Set still.

Sometimes they're right amusing.

No. I better

hit the road.

Kind of disappointing, I guess.

Man coming back

to his home place,

find it like this.

Kind of like

visiting a graveyard.

Yeah, something like that.

Well, good luck.

I hope we didn't

interrupt nothing.

Fella was born here.

Wanted to see

how the place looked after 20-odd years.

Scared us. Thought

maybe he was a buyer.

Him?

Them McClouds

is the most shiftless family

ever hit these parts.

He couldn't buy nothing.

McCloud!

That's who that is!

Jeff McCloud!

You know him?

Leave him alone, Wes.

He's the world

saddle bronc champ,

the first man ever

to ride zombie.

I was at the Cheyenne rodeo

the year you won

the all-around.

How big is this ranch

you ride for?

Oh, big enough.

That's the year you

rode zombie, right?

Think they can use another hand?

I'm sure rig will take you on.

I wouldn't get my hopes up

too high, Mr. McCloud.

Why not?

Lots of foremen

on the big spreads

won't give rodeo cowboys jobs.

Figures they're

all saddle tramps.

Don't they have

rodeos around here?

I ride

in one every year at the county fair.

Won $40 last year.

$40? Must be a big show.

40 or 100, I don't

like to see him rodeo.

You know, the year I was champ,

I won over $25,000.

Easy come, easy go.

I'll take Jeff over to see rig.

You think

you can roust up another lamb chop?

I think so.

We usually eat early on Sunday,

but can you hold out

until 5:
00, 5:30?

For lamb chops?

Sure, I can.

We'll have a lab report

in the morning, rig.

In the meantime,

keep the calf in quarantine

until we find out about this.

Put him in that

middle stall, boys.

Picked this fella up

at Jeremiah's place.

He's hunting for a job.

Name's Jeff McCloud.

What outfit did you

work for last,

and why'd you quit?

I been rodeoing

the last few years.

Had a brahma bull set on me.

Sorry.

I can't use you.

Look, if you're thinking

I'm a rodeo tramp, you got me wrong.

I've hired rodeo cowboys before.

They're always practicing their tricks

and roughing up the stock.

When you need them most, they're taking

off for Fort Worth or Cheyenne somewhere.

If you want some recommendations,

I can get them for you.

What ranches you work for?

I worked the lazy w

and vern Jackson's place

up in the panhandle.

Managers of both places

will vouch for me.

How are you with horses?

Can you break colts

without making broncs out of them?

I got a special calling

for horses,

like some get the call

to be a preacher.

I can make them

do anything but talk Mexican.

One of my best cowboys

is sick with arthritis.

What'll you work for?

Oh, 140.

120's the best I can do.

You got yourself a hand.

I might as well tell you

we got

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