you lucky bum!

while workin at the forpaugh ranch in aguila  arizona i was the youngest man there. naturaly i was the dumbest by popular procumation.  pa was in his 70 s, russ was in his 40 s with me in my 30 s. so you know who got all the crap jobs. that was ok because come summer time the other two got layed off and i was still there. but come fall they were back and for all the agrivation they were good to work  with.
     we were branding calves one spring day in a big ole waterlot. it was realy to big to work in but we had pulled pickups and trailers in a line down the middle of the lot.  that cut the pen in half. there was some folks from town there workin the ground and we were all having a good time, rough housing and pulling pranks on one  another.  after pa wore out roping calves, and russ had tore the latigo out of his saddle i got a turn to rope and drag calves. my horses were all colts 3 or 4 years old still in hackamore.  now the calves wer 400 pounders which can be a little tough on a green colt. but i had brought 2 colts and could rest one while riding the other.
    i roped with a 45 foot dallied rope where the other folks used tied ropes, which makes a horse have to work a little harder draggin those calves to the fire. one big bull calf had become real good at hiding among the cows and keeping a couple between you and him. that made it real hard to rope him by the feet. roping a calf that big around the neck and taking him to the flanking crew that way could get you in a lot of trouble with them. all that he man stuff is for the movies and texans!!
      this bull calf finaly made himselfavailable to my rope and i threw about 25 foot out there to snare him.  after laying the calf down i coiled my rope and got up real close to him to make the drag easier on my colt.  when reaching the flanking crew i saw they were all hanging back, waitting for a smaller calf. i yelled at them , shamed them a little and finally two of them stepped up and grabbed the calf for the branders . i coiled my rope and started back to the herd. i heard  some one yell and looked back to see the flankers wrasslen each other and that big ole calf trottin back to the herd unbranded!! turning my horse sidways to the calf i built a loop and swinging it along myside rolled the loop under the calf roping two hind feet again at about 30 foot out. again i laid the calf down , shortened up the rope and drug the calf to the flankers who were standing there sheepishly. pa stepped up and said you lucky bum, brazenly i looked him in the eye and said turn him loose again and ill do it again!! he didnt know if i could or not but they branded the calf that time. truth is i didnt know if i could do it again but ill be damned if i would tell them that!