COLOR ME HAPPY! HEARTS & CUPS FILLED . . . THERE ALL MY FAVORITE! COWBOY WANTED, DEAD OR ALIVE . . . INTERESTING MOVIE: EDWARD NORTON (2008) "DOWN IN THE VALLEY." TALK ABOUT A CLASH OF CULTURES--COWBOY COMES DOWN FROM THE HIGH COUNTRY, ON A RANCH, TO TOWN, TO STRIKE OUT HIS FUTURE AND FORTUNE, MEETS SWEET, WILD SURFER CALIFORNIA CHICK--BLONDE HAIRED, BLUE-EYED BEAUTY . . . IT IS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. SHE INTRODUCES HIM TO SEX FOR THE FIRST TIME, FROLICKING IN THE OCEAN, DRUGS, NEON DANCING AT CLUBS, AND FUN IN THE CITY. UNTIL COP--SHERIFF, DAD FINDS OUT ABOUT THE NEW GUY, AND THE TRAGIC ROMANCE, NOT UNLIKE SHAKERSPEARE'S CLASSIC, ROMEO & JUILET, STAR CROSSED LOVERS, UNFOLDS, WITH THE PROTAGONIST, THE MAIN CHARACTER, THE UNSUNG HERO--WHO READS THE CONTROLLING FATHER, THE TRAPPED KIDS AND HE TRIES DESPERATELY TO FREE THEM FROM HIS CLUTCHES. THE ANTAGONIST, THE FATHER, HAS REASON TO BE CONCERNED, NEW DUDE COWBOY, SPENT A YEAR IN JAIL FOR THEFT . . . BUT, FROM WHAT I HAVE GARNERED, FROM PAROWAN, UTAH AND MONTANA, TO MOST COWBOYS, JAIL IS A BADGE OF HONOR, WEARING IN ON THEIR SLEEVE LIKE A BOY SCOUT PATCH, HAVING ARRIVED, BECOME A MAN, AND WITH THAT INDEPENDENT, START KNOCKING THE SYSTEM, FROM THAT POINT ON . . . BATTLING RANGE WARS, ENDANGERED SPECIES, LIKE PRAIRIE DOGS WHO RIP UP THEIR FIELDS AND FUCK UP THEIR TRACTORS! TAKING CHANCES OF PUTTING CHEWED BUBBLE GUM, IN THEIR HOLES, OR JUST OUTRIGHT, TAKING THE CRITTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS, SHOOTING THE SHIT OUT OF THEM! THE HERO AND THE ANTI-HERO, CLASH, OF COURSE, WITH THE COWBOY, STANDING FIRM, RESPECTING THE FATHER'S PROPERTY RIGHTS, BUT, NOT BACKING DOWN ON HIS PURSUIT OF LOVE FOR HIS DAUGHTER! LIKE ALL ROMEO & JULIET DRAMAS OF UNREQUITED LOVE, IT NEVER WORKS TO KEEP YOUNG LOVERS, OR OLD APART, BECAUSE, THEY ARE FOREVER IN THEIR HEARTS, ANYWAY. THE INNOCENCE, BUT POWER, THE DETERMINATION, OF THE COWBOY, GOING AGAINST A FATHER, WHO HAS THE RESOURCES, TO MAKE THE YOUNG MAN'S LIFE, A LIVING HELL, AS WELL AS HIS DAUGHTERS. THE GIRL, KNOWS HER DAD, FIGHTS HIM, BUT, SHE IS ALSO CAUTIOUS WITH THE COWBOY, WARNING HIM, THAT HER DAD WILL KILL HER IF THEY GET TOGETHER, AND HE DOESN'T LEAVE . . . SO HE DOES FOR AWHILE, BUT COMES BACK, WITH THE SOLUTION, HE HAS MONEY, PACKS HER BAG, AND THEY WILL RUN AWAY AND GET MARRIED! SHE IS YOUNG, MAYBE 16 AND FEARS, NOT ONLY FOR HER LIFE, BUT HIS LIFE . . . HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND IT. THIS NEXT PART, IS CONFUSING, AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS COWBOY REFLEX, OR THAT COUNTRY BOYS WEAR THEIR HEARTS ON THEIR SLEEVE TOO, AND HE DRAWS HIS GUN, TWO ON HIS HIP HOLSTERS, WITHOUT THINKING, HE SHOOTS HER IN THE STOMACH . . . OR IS IT BECAUSE HE CAN'T LOSE TO THE FATHER, LOVES HER SO MUCH AND LOSES IT WHEN SHE TELLS HIM, SHE CAN'T GO? THIS IS WHERE THE STORY GETS DICEY, BECAUSE THE TRAGIC HERO, STILL FEELING THE NEED TO RESCUE THE TWO KIDS, HE HAS GROWN CLOSE TO, AND TAKE THEM SOMEWHERE SAFE--AND I THINK HE SEES THIS, AS TRUE SURVIVAL FOR THEM, BASED ON SOME OF THE STATEMENTS HE MAKES ABOUT THE LITTLE BROTHER, WHOM HE IS GENUINELY CONCERNED FOR, SEEING HIM, ALONE AND SAD, HE TAKES THE KID ON HORSEBACK, COMICALLY, TRYING TO GET OUT OF THE CITY, TO SHOOT GUNS, AND TEACH THE KID, BUT, THE HORSE, AND THE TWO GUNSLINGERS, END UP SHOOTING GLASS BOTTLES, RIGHT UNDER THE CEMENT FREEWAY, MAYBE INDICATING, THAT, NO MATTER HOW HARD THIS COWBOY, WHO PLAYS BY OLD SCHOOL COUNTRY RULES, IS TRAPPED IN A CEMENT JUNGLE. COWBOY, KNOWS HE IS IN TROUBLE FOR SHOOTING THE GIRL, SO HE TAKES OFF, SHOOTS HIMSELF, IN THE STOMACH TOO, COMES BACK FOR THE BOY, AND TELLS HIM, TO GET HIM OUT OF THE HOUSE AND AWAY FROM A FATHER, WHO DOES LITTLE WITH HIM, AND CARES NOT FOR THE BOY, OR THE GIRL, OTHER THAN GIVING THEM THE BASICS OF FOOD AND SHELTER, FOR TOTAL CONTROL, AS COPS ARE KNOWN TO DO WITH FAMILIES, BUT HE TELLS THE KID, THAT IT WAS HIS DAD, WHO SHOT THE DAUGHTER--AND IN A WAY, HIS ACTIONS, DENYING YOUNG LOVE TO PLAY OUT, GOING FROM A RAGING FIRE, AND LETTING THE FIRE, SLOWLY DIE, TO THE EMBERS, OF MORE MATURE PASSIONS, AND IN THAT SENSE, HE IS NOT LYING WHEN HE TELLS THE SON, THE FATHER WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR HER BEING SHOT. THE KID HAD TOUCHED THE GUN AFTER THE COWBOY SHOT HER, AND HE WAS TO BE QUESTIONED IN THE MORNING, ANOTHER REASON TO RUN, IN THE COWBOY'S MIND. BOB SEGER SONG ON . . . SHE'S LIVING INSIDE MY HEART NOW, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID TO DESERVE HER, BUT I'M NEVER GOING TO LOSER HER . . . SHE'S LIVING INSIDE MY HEART, LIVING INSIDE . . . YOU CAN'T EXTRICATE LOVE, EVER--OH, I NEVER BELIEVED HOW MUCH SOMEONE COULD COME TO MEAN TO ME, SHE'S LIVING INSIDE MY HEART! BACK TO THE STORY . . . SO COWBOY ON HIS WHITE HORSE, WHITE COWBOY HAT, SIX GUNS ON HIS SIDE, LITTLE BROTHER, SAVING IN TOW, RIDES OFF INTO THE SUNSET--WITH DAD IN HOT PURSUIT BEHIND THE TWO! THE TWO GET BUSHWACKED, OUT BY A FIRE, SHOTS ARE EXCHANGED, BUT THE BOY, AGAIN, CHOOSES THE COWBOY OVER HIS FATHER. THEY END UP, RIDING INTO A MOVIE SET, FOR AN OLD WESTERN--WHEN COWBOY WAKES UP, HE HEARS A THE SOUND OF COUNTRY MUSIC AND DANCING GOING ON OUTSIDE, WHERE THE TWO ARE HOLED UP . . . YOU DON'T KNOW IF THE COWBOY IS TOTALLY NUTS, OR WHAT, BUT, HE IS IN HIS ELEMENT, AND JOINS THE TOWN PARTY, TO SWEAR THE NEW SHERIFF IN--CAMERAS FILMING, WHEN DAD AND HIS POSSE ROLL INTO TOWN, IN A GRAY CROWN VIC, THE TRADITIONAL COP CAR . . . COWBOY GETS WARNED FROM THE SON, AGAIN, SHOWING HIS ALLEGIANCE TO A MAN, WHO THE KID KNEW, CHANGED HIS LIFE! JUST LIKE AN OLD FASHIONED GUN FIGHT, ON THE DUSTY STREETS, OF TOMBSTONE OR LAREDO, THE COWBOY DRAWS BOTH SIX SHOOTERS, TAKES ON THE DAD, HIS COP BUDDIES, KILLING TWO BEFORE, BEING SHOT, WITH DAD, HIDING IN THE UNDERCOVER SQUAD CAR, SON GRABS THE WHITE HORSE, FOR THE COWBOY WITH THE WHITE COWBOY HAT, ALL SYMBOLS OF PURITY, GOODNESS, PEACE AT FIRST--HE TRIED OR WANTED TO TALK TO THE DAD, BUT THE COP DAD, PULLED A GUN ON THE COWBOY, POINTED IT AT HIS HEAD, EARLIER, BEFORE ALL THE DRAMA STARTED, SO THE ANTI-HERO, THE COP, IN TRUE COP FASHION, USED HIS GUN AND HIS BADGE, FORCE, THREATS TO GET CONTROL OF THE LOVERS . . . BUT LOYALTIES ARE DEFINITELY ON COWBOYS SIDE. THE SON AND THE COWBOY MOUNT UP, AND RIDE OFF TO FIND, SHELTER . . . COWBOY, IS SHOT IN THE SIDE, AND WITH THE PREVIOUS WOUND, HE IS LOSING BLOOD, GETTING WEAK. THE GUN FIGHT, WITH COWBOY AND HIS HORSE, AGAINST THE UNDERCOVER COP CAR, JUXTAPOSES, THE DIFFERENCES OF LIFESTYLES, CULTURES, MENTALITIES, AS DO THE TWO MEN, BOTH DETERMINED IN THEIR OWN WAY, BOTH RIGHT, FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE, BUT THE FATHER, LEFT THE LOVERS NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE, OTHER THAN TO JUST CUT OFF LOVE, WITH THE HOT PASSION OF LOVE BURNING . . . NOT GOING TO HAPPEN DAD! LIKE IN ALL TRAGIC HERO STORIES, DAD TRACKS TO TWO COWBOYS . . . YOUNGSTER IS FASCINATED WITH BECOMING A MAN, SHOOTING, AND GETTING TO HANDLE A GUN, SOMETHING HIS FATHER NEVER ALLOWED, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD GUN COLLECTIONS ALL OVER THE HOUSE . . . THE GUN CULTURE IS SECOND NATURE TO COWBOYS AND COWGIRLS . . . MONTANA HOMES HAVE AN AVERAGE OF 27 GUNS PER HOUSEHOLD, LAST SURVEYED, MANY I TALKED TO, HAD MANY MORE THAN THAT! EVENTUALLY, THE WOUNDED COWBOY, OUTNUMBERED, IN THE NORMAL, CHICKEN SHIT WAY, THREE TO ONE, WEAK, GETS SHOT SEVERAL MORE TIMES, DAD TAKES ONE OR TWO, TOO. COWBOY'S WHITE HORSE, HIDDEN IN THE GARAGE, GOES NUTS, KICKING THE METAL DOOR, TRYING TO GET TO HIS MASTER, SENSING TROUBLE, BUT CAN'T KICK ITS WAY OUT . . . COWBOY CRAWLS INTO THE DRIVEWAY, OUT IN THE SUNSHINE, AND DIES. THE SON, RUNS TO HIM, CRADLING HIM AND LOVING ON HIM, AS HIS FATHER STANDS BY, URGING HIM, TO LEAVE THE COWBOY, AND COME WITH HIM--HE DISOBEYS. START OF THIS 13 YEAR OLD, TURNING INTO A MAN, IN HIS OWN RIGHT . . . IT WAS ALMOST LIKE AN INITIATION FOR THE QUIET, SULLEN YOUNG, LONELY MAN, STANDING UP TO HIS FATHER. THE NEXT THING YOU SEE, IS THE FATHER, DAUGHTER--RECOVERED, AND THE SON, DRIVING UP TO A PLACE THE TWO LOVERS HAD SPENT A WONDERFUL DAY TOGETHER, KISSING, PLAYING ON A TREE SWING, MAKING LOVE, OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE HIGH COUNTRY GRASS . . . THE GIRL AND BOY, LOOKING OVER THE VALLEY BELOW, WONDER WHAT TO SAY . . . SHE SAYS, DON'T SAY ANYTHING . . . AND THE WIND TAKES, COWBOYS ASHES AND BLOWS THEM OUT OVER THE GRASS, INTO THE SKY ABOVE AND OVER THE VALLEY . . . YEAH, THE CARDS ARE STACKED AGAINST, ANYONE, TAKING ON THE POWER THAT BE, HEROES, FIGHTING TO KEEP, AMERICA, THE HOME OF THE FREE, BECAUSE OF THE FREE! GOD BLESS THE AMERICAN COWBOYS . . . IF WE REMAIN FREE, THEY WILL PLAY A KEY ROLE, WITH THE INDEPENDENT SPIRIT, THAT CONQUERED, WELL, TRIED TO CONQUER THE WILD, WILD WEST . . . LET FREEDOM AND LOVE RING, FOREVER! COPS CAN USE THEIR BADGES, GUNS TO RIDDLE OUR BODIES WITH BULLETS, JAIL US, BEAT US . . . BUT, THEY WILL NEVER, EVER WIN OUR HEARTS AND SOULS!