The Outlaws

By Bradley McIlwain

I can hear the wind gently ruffle among the thicket,
stirring leaves between thick hollow cut graves,
whispering.

Lash Larue

By Thomas M. McDade

At age ten, I showed no mercy
To vulnerable willow trees
Clocking each and every bough
I never rested until I found
One with snap, span and sinew
To create an imitation Lash LaRue

The Fastest Gun

By Mike Berger

Lightning fast would be a gross
understatement. He could draw,
shoot and replace his gun in
less than a second. Pedro was
an ugly man both inside and out.
He operated outside the law and
had notches in his gun to prove it.
The law was after him but he was
cunning. He was always one step
ahead.

Busted

Mike Berger

He was hard as nails and as onery as
a wild mustang. At six foot four and
265, you didn't give him any lip. He
could wrestle a steer with one arm
and spit tobacco a mile and a half.

He santured his way into the saloon
smashing the double doors. The place
grew deathly quiet. The poker dealer
stopped dead in his tracks. The card
he had just dealt hung in the air. He
ordered a bottle and paid with gold.

Rodeo Queen

Mike Berger

The guys on the circuit were smitten.
The rodeo queen was the most
gorgeous thing we had ever seen. They
all wanted to ask her out, but she said
they would have to stand in line.

I am no snaggletooth cowboy, so I
tossed my white hat into the ring. I am
not into those elegant pickup lines, so
I asked straight out if she would go out
with me.

Merle Roehr

The story of Dagger and Dicky Chet, is not of a couple of boys, but of an ol kid on his journey to manhood. It is a conflict of personalities that tell a story. It is one that many of us as men can relate to if we think of our own life and the conflict between the boy and the man.

The boys he worked with called him Dagger,
cause he carried a long sharp knife.
The old timers called him Dicky Chet,
cause they’d known him all their life.

Any Way You Can

Mike Berger

It was the 50th anniversary of the
county rodeo. They were having a
nostalgia day. Cowboys and clowns
dressed in clothes from the 1950s
road in and waved to the crowd. The
announcer was brought in by a
1955 pickup. They played 50s cow-
boy music on the loudspeakers.

The Emporium

Mike Berger

The main street in our little town is only
two blocks long. It has only a café and
four stores. The supermarket carries
everything from groceries to car parts.
The feed store sells hay and corn and
some alfalfa seed. In the farmers co-op,
you can find anything from seed to
barbed wire. The fourth store is the
Emporium.

The Tale of Docile Jean

by: Alicia Deets

When she named her Docile Jean, her momma never thought
That she’s grow straight out of her name, be burly and what-not.
Why, right outta the shoot she was anything but dainty,
Had folks for miles around askin “She is a girl, ain’t she?”

Now Docile never minded –her confidence was sure.
She flicked off condescension quicker’n cow manure.
Growin’ up was not hard to do and she did it fast.
But in the course of gainin’ smarts, manners came dead last.

Legends in the Sky

Philip W. Rider

This story's about two legends
One Red Rock, the other is Lane
A tale of how in rodeo
These two champions had gained their fame

Lane Frost was not just a cowboy
Although he loved to chute the bull
And even as his life ended short
His glass almost always half full

Those Champion buckles filled his bag
As he hurried from town to town
Rodeo was a part of his life
Chutting bulls never got him down