Be Careful...

An old woman shuffled into a little town in Texas , leading an old tired mule. The old lady headed straight for the only saloon in town, to clear her parched throat. She walked up to the saloon and tied her old mule to the hitch rail.

As she stood there, brushing some of the dust from her face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.

The young gunslinger looked at the old woman and laughed, saying, "Hey old darlin', have you ever danced?"

The old woman looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No, I never did dance ... Never really wanted to."

A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna dance now," and started shooting at the old woman's feet.

The old lady, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet.

Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied. When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon.

The old lady turned to to her pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers. The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air.

The crowd stopped laughing immediately. The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly.

The silence was almost deafening.

The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin 10 gauge barrels. The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old woman's hands, as she quietly said, "Son, have you ever kissed a mule's Ass?"

The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No ma'am ... But... I've always wanted to."

There are a few lessons for us all here:

Never be arrogant. Don't waste ammunition. Whiskey makes you think you're smarter than you are. Always, always make sure you know who has the power. Don't mess with old folks, they didn't get old by being stupid.