There's an old western song about a cowboy who accepts a challenge to ride a bronc that "has never been rode" named "The Brute." There's a $1,000 reward for any man who can ride him.
Not only does the cowboy ride him, he does it bareback while wearing a "continental suit" and smoking a freshly-rolled cigarette.
Here's the last verse:
The moral of this story: Never judge by what they wear.
Underneath them ragged clothes could be a millionaire,
Everybody listen, don't be fooled by this galoot,
A sure-enough bronc rider in a Continental Suit.
Back in my mid-twenties I was working as an insurance investigator for a company in Albuquerque. One day I had a case in a small town south of there and ended up stopping for lunch in a local diner.
I chanced to sit at the counter next to a cowboy who had obviously spent the morning in close proximity to a lot of horse and cow shit and done a lot of sweating. Turned out he'd been breaking a horse.
We talked "cowboying" and horses for awhile and he asked me some questions about myself, schooling, jobs I'd had, etc. Just before he paid for his hamburger he said, "I reckon I could use a young man like you if your lookin' to work."
I had no interest in punching cattle any more so I thanked him for the offer but, "I reckon I'll keep on with what I'm doin'." He got his change, left what I thought was a generous tip for a bronc buster, and walked out the door.
As I was paying my bill, the waitress asked, "Did I just hear you turn John down when he offered you a job?"
"Yes, Ma'am. I don't reckon I want to punch cattle or work horses any more."
"Punch Cattle? Do you know who he is?"
"Well, no ma'am. I guess he's a foreman on a ranch nearby."
"Well, you're almost right, Cowboy. He owns the biggest ranch in these parts. But he also owns the bank on the corner, the Chevrolet dealership across the street, and several other businesses including this cafe. He's not looking for a cowboy, he's looking for an assistant."
Mr. Alura
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