<TITLE>04. Par 34-45</TITLE>L-34   And reminds me when I was a boy, out on the farm. My--my father was a rider. And he break horses and follow the rodeo, to break the horses, and so forth. He was really a good rider. Well, I thought, being his son, surely I was a rider, too. So I'd... daddy would be way out the back of the farm, with his horses, you know. And I'd take out the old plow horse, you know, old and stoved-up, stiff and tired.

L-35 And we had an old water trough hewed out of a log. How many ever seen one of that? Well, what part of Kentucky you from, anyhow? And so... And we used to go down there and get stung with the honey bees, you know, come and get their water and things.

L-36 So, I'd look and see daddy make his round, through the corn field, way back at the back. I'd go in and get his saddle, and a handful of cockleburs, you know, and slip it up under the saddle, pull up the cinch, and climb up in it. And that poor old horse! My little brothers setting all around there, holler, "Ride him, Billy! Ride him!" You know, and the poor horse, so tired, he couldn't even get his feet off the ground, you know, "clump, clump." I thought, "Man, am I a rider!" I had read too many Western stories. That was it. So I--I thought, maybe, you know, well... You know, I got...

L-37   One day I decided that they needed me out in the West, to break their horses, you know. And, I, about eighteen years old. They had to have me. My--my services was needed, so I slipped right out and went out West.

L-38 And I tried to buy me a pair of chaps. I was a little bitty fellow, you know. And I thought it had pretty... had A-r-i-z-o-n-a and a steer's head on it. Now, "Oh, my! That's beautiful." When I put them on, I looked like one of these little game chickens, you know, with them feathers all. I couldn't walk with the things, so I just got me a pair of--of Levis.

L-39 I thought, "Well, I'll ride the silver saddle. I'll go out and get me some... I'll set out there and wait till they bring them bucking horses out. There is some of them guys get throwed; I'll show them how to ride them. My daddy is a rider."

L-40   So, I climbed up on the fence. They was having to break in some horses. And I looked over there in the pen, and I seen them outlaws in there, that, my, that you couldn't even throw fodder in to him. They was so wild, they wouldn't eat it. So, I thought, "Say, I don't know. That don't look like that old plow horse I rode." So looked at him for a while.

L-41 After while, they had one there they called, "the Kansas outlaw." So they brought him out, a great big heavy horse, about seventeen hands in it. He was really a horse. So they put a...

L-42 Had a fine man there, with all of his great uniform on, and everything; the girls all waving at him. He was quite a star. I looked at him as he come out of his automobile. They said, "This man can ride this horse." So, they put him in the chute. And he got up on there, and got him saddled up, got set in his saddle.

L-43 They opened the gate. My! Oh, my! About two twists and a sunfish, and he looked like he could throw the saddle over the moon. I never seen such! Well, the pickups got the horse and the ambulance got the rider.

L-44 Here come the caller around, you know. He said, "I'll give any man here, five hundred dollars, that can stay on him sixty seconds."

L-45 He come right down the line. I don't know how it ever was, he picked me right out. Set there, just setting up there with all these old disfigured cowboy, you know. My legs wasn't bowed, or nothing. But I--I thought I was a real rider, I could set there with them. I was fellowshipping with them, you know, my hat setting on the back of my head. Was about seventeen years old, I guess, looking around like that. He come, said, "Are you a rider?"
And I said, "No, sir."


<A HREF="P5">Next Page</A>