The Lusty Men Page #2

some strict rules on this place.

We don't run our cattle

'cause it takes the fat off.

We don't rope them

unless we have to.

We got good blooded stuff here.

We can't sell them with broken legs.

I'll show you the bunkhouse.

I'll meet you at the corral

and help you

pick out a string of ponies.

Hey, Jeff, you've

been around a lot.

You figure your old place

is worth $5,000?

I'm a bad one to ask

about money matters.

The only way I could tell

how much a thing was worth

was by how bad I wanted it.

This is a nice little layout.

What did you have to do

to get it?

Get married.

Louise and me waited six months

until a married cowboy quit.

We got $1,100 saved up.

We're going to buy

Jeremiah's place and stock it.

Call it the w-l,

right?

That's the general idea.

As soon as we get the money.

$1,100 is pretty good

for 2 years of marriage.

Yeah. Who

does the saving?

Oh, she's the banker.

I just hand her my pay.

Ain't it surprising

how romantic women

can get about money?

Wes tells me

you once made $3,000

in one day rodeoing.

And threw it all away.

I didn't throw it away.

It just sort of floated.

That's pretty stupid...

Breaking all your bones,

then letting the money go.

Some things you don't do

for the cash, there is in it.

Some things you do for the buzz.

One minute on a crazy horse.

A minute? 10 seconds

can make it feel like a lifetime.

And wind up with a snapped neck.

Or a dislocated collarbone

or have your brains

shook loose by a bronc.

I've come

out of those chutes a lot of times,

heard the crowd hollering,

a horse or a bull

jumping and twisting

underneath you.

I always felt the same thing.

For a little bit,

you're a lot more

than you are

just walking down the street

or eating or sleeping.

Maybe it's something

you can't explain to a woman.

'Cause it's a different

kind of buzz.

Thanks again for the supper.

It's been a long time

since I had a supper that good.

That's one of the reasons

they were standing in line

to marry her.

I guess a lot of people ask

what's the best horse

you ever rode.

Yeah, a lot of people.

Was it zombie?

I draw two-step

one time

and got bucked off.

She was good, but I

mark zombie better.

Was you ever scared?

Rodeoing?

Yeah, of getting hurt.

Well, I've been scared,

and I've been not scared.

Why did you quit?

Well, I busted the last

three ribs I had.

I still wouldn't have quit

if I hadn't caved in.

You been rodeoing a long time.

Yeah, 18 years.

Won the national when I was 17.

I started

cutting wild horses when I was 13.

I wasn't but 14.

They paid me 10 cents a head.

That's what I got.

A fella's bankroll

could get fat in a hurry rodeoing.

Chicken today,

feathers tomorrow.

Not if he played it smart

when he had the chicken.

You stay with those

lamp chops, man.

She cooks them good.

I hate to mention this,

but you're a working man.

You are, too, now.

About time to hit the sack.

We just ate.

We ate late.

4:
30 comes early.

4:
30?

I forgot people

get up at 4:
30.

Well, good night.

Good night.

Sure enjoyed that supper.

Chow time!

Come and get it!

You got a lot of horse in chico.

Yeah. Working

off of him's no work.

Came out of king ranch

quarter horse stock.

Raised him from a Colt.

Know any better?

Oh, I used to a long time ago.

Horse like him's

worth $2,000-3,000.

You could sell him

and help pay for

that ranch you want.

Aim to have both.

Show you something else.

"Calf roping, $50.

Bareback, 25.

Bronc riding"...

Your wife know

about you spending all this money

on the rodeo?

I'll tell her

if I make out all right

next month at San Angelo.

You couldn't win hamburger money

against top professionals.

Not right away.

I know that.

But I learn fast.

You're a pretty sharp article.

You are for a fact.

You've had one thing in

the back of your mind.

I don't figure I've

done anything wrong.

I thought if I

could get you hired,

maybe you'd help me some.

At the rate Louise

and me are going,

it'll take us 15 more years

to get Jeremiah's place.

My wife's got more

Patience than I have.

Don't figure we'll ever

own a place of our own,

less'n we find some shortcut.

I know what I want,

and it won't take no 15 years.

You take $125 out

of the bank last week?

That's right. I...

Forgot to mention it.

Well, I sort of been trying

to get around to it.

What was it for?

Oh, I sent it to San Angelo.

Entry fees in the rodeo.

That's something else

you forgot to mention.

Oh, I was going to

tell you when it was over.

I wanted to surprise you.

Surprise me with

what... A broken leg, a broken neck?

Look, I'm good.

Jeff knows.

He's been teaching me.

Jeff McCloud,

that great has-been.

What's rig going to think

about one of his hands

taking a vacation?

He knows I'm going

to San Angelo.

If he hears you've

been in a rodeo, he'll fire you.

The minute it looks like

a guy's losing his job,

his wife gets panicky.

That's why I didn't

tell you about the money.

Look, buster, nobody's

getting panicky.

I'm just trying

to keep us straight.

And stop kidding yourself.

You ain't the only guy

who tried to take me

from behind that counter

and set me up in business.

You ain't the biggest,

you ain't the strongest,

you ain't the richest,

and you ain't the prettiest,

but you're the only one

who wanted what I wanted...

A decent steady life.

I love you more than

anything in the world,

but I want to get my place.

I want to toss a rope

over my own cow just once.

You're a grown man, Wes.

You do what you like.

I aim to.

I'm going to San Angelo.

"Joe burgess, petey mendoza,

Jim Barney,

red Logan, Jack Nemo."

That's a pretty good lineup.

Hey, you draw high voltage

in the saddle bronc.

I know that horse.

"Bald eagle, blackout,

raw deal, Billy the kid."

That's al Dawson's stock.

Ain't that al Dawson's stock?

Something wrong with the stock?

No. I just never knew him

to work this far south.

I know your horse, though.

I won the day money

on him at St. Joe and Denver.

Hey, Nemo!

Well, what do you know?

Who's the dude?

What are you,

a lightning rod salesman?

Hear you been

dirt farming lately.

Pretty near.

Wes merritt,

meet red Logan and Jack Nemo.

Didn't see your name

on the entry list.

I'm just here with Wes.

Wes getting his feet wet today.

Welcome to San Angelo's

annual rodeo.

Starting this great

western celebration,

we proudly present

our very colorful grand

entry of riders and horses

in the serpentine ride.

Next will be

saddle bronc riding.

Our first rider this

afternoon is slim Avery,

who hails from Reno, Nevada.

I'd like to call your attention

to the two men on horseback.

They are our pickup men

who, immediately

after the whistle sounds,

take the rider

off the bucking horse

and transfer him safely

to the ground.

We draw your attention

to chute number 1,

where Wes merritt

of big Springs, Texas,

is coming out on high voltage.

I can't tell you much

about Wes merritt, folks.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes