SPOON

today i was filling a water trough for the pasture horses. he came stumping up to get a drink. a shadow of his former years. his right knee the size of a basketball, his left ankle a soft ball. his iron gray color faded to a bleached out white. i thought back over twenty years to the morning he came into this world, the son of a little ID mare from san carlos and a cow pony stud that was seen around the ropins. i mdidnt own him, he was the property of my youngest son who would become known in the rodeo world in arizona as THE pickup man for bronc riders. most often he was mounted over the years on that iron gray gelding. but if you needed to drag calves to a fire for branding, you saddled spoon. if you needed to catch a wild cow brute off the side of a rocky cactus grown hill, you cinched your saddle to that gray. jackpot ropins and any event in between picking up broncs it was spoon who got the call.even, when a little dark haired girl needed a calf roped in the ribbon ropin the fastest runner in the third grade would get the buckle. that old gray horse was the top of the line. photographers sought him out along with his rider. photo spreads in magazines showed a dark young man picking up a bronc in a muddy sloppy arena, that ole gray horse with his shoulder pushed into the bronc. at a day and time when solid team roping horses are bringing 20,30, up to 60 thousand dollers, theres no telling what a versatile all around mount like spoon would have brought. but now , like all of us, his years are closer to the end than the begining. but on my wall hangs a 3 foot square photo on canvas of that duo in aaction. and every day i look at the retired warrior he was, who was rode to battle in the arena more times than i could count. around arizona bronc riders who when getting down on their horse would look out in the arena and see carter and spoon and know when the whistle blew, they would be there. a salute to a grand ole war horse.

X T 18

chuy was a wanted man, in more ways than one. he had gone to the bookie julien to get some get out of town money, but it had turned into a argument with the fat bookie threatening him. he had hit him once with the brass knuckles but his head seemed to be egg shell thin. chuy had ransaked juliens apartment for cash and only found a few hundred dollers. the man on the phone had told him five thousand, but was never heard from again. he and roberto had done the job and now that man was gone or hideing. chuy had no idea why the man wanted the two dead but he didnt care they were dead, and he hadnt been paid. and then there was the kid with the shotgun who killed roberto, who was he? and why was he stepping into the game? if he had time chuy would track the kid and settle up for roberto. but he needed to get out of town, accross the border, mexico, away from those looking forhimhe could handle one even two, but that man on the phone miht figgure out that he was the last link. chuy wouldnt know who was comming for him.would it be the big rancher who was talking to julien? or the kid with the shotgun? he couldnt wait around. tonite he would break into the el rancho and get what he could. he had friends in mexico who would help him. but he had to get there first. back at the X T denton caught up with butch and told him about ednas and his suspicions about clay. when asked about clay and his where abouts denton said he had left with a truck load of fence material. butch nodded. he liked the maintence man. he was a kid but he worked hard, needed no supervision and did excellent work. more than anything butch was worried about the kid himself. at the lunch meal butch told everyone there he was going to the el rancho to try and track down chuy. every one wanted to go along but he shook his head. he could handle one bad man he smiled at the three . when he went out to his truck clay was standing along side the drivers door," you goin after the other thug?" " yes and why you butting in?" butch tried to push clay aside. " ime butting in because you dont understand those people , i do, i been there , done that. ill just watch your back." clay looked butch right in the eye. butch stood thunder struck, " you, you been there?" clay nodded" ill explain on the way, lets go." he went around to the passenger side and got in. butch watched then opened the pickup door and got in. the first thing he noticed was a sawed off shotgun standing in the floor board and leaning against the seat.he looked over at clay with a unasked question. "drive, i told you i would explain."was all clay said.