That is Priceless by Steve Melcher for November 29, 2023

A hard way to find out not to insult another man’s horse.

Last thing the artist saw.

/// Clint’s hand hovered right next to his gun,

for the shootout with Bart had begun.

They’d agreed they would meet

on Laredo’s Main Street

at the rise of the bright Winter Sun.

/// He watched Bart cinch his holster strap tighter,

steady handed, a seasoned gunfighter.

And what now caught Clint’s eye—

the intense orange sky,

proved in winter the sun’s even brighter.

/// Bart moved slowly left, shuffling his feet,

backing toward the east end of the street.

This maneuver caused Clint

to face sunrise and squint.

He’d assumed his opponent would cheat.

/// Bart had shot the town’s man of the law.

That dead marshal was Clint’s girlfriend’s Paw.

A slight smile on his lips,

Clint watched Bart’s hat eclipse

the sun. Now he could see the man draw.

/// Clint’s one chance at avoiding disaster,

was to draw his gun now, even faster.

Two gunshots filled the air

of Laredo’s town square.

Western gunmen now had a new master.

Thanks for your insight, Phydias. According to this to this poll list , I just made 1000 drachmae on this “Do Athenians wore something under their chlamys” betting scheme.

Was it high noon? I can’t see the sun.

I like this one, but you’ve always got to consider your backstop when using firearms. In this case it looks like horses and civilians, so that’s a nonstarter for a gunfight.

“This here town ain’t big enough for the two of us Slim… so I’m leaving.”

Go ahead draw, I kinda’ wish you would.

According the Cowboys’ Quarterly, plaid shirts were to die for that year.

Do not dessert me, oh my darlin’

On this hot and humid day.

I don’t want my tummy to so ache me

That my bullet goes astray.

.

The last time you made blueberry pancakes

The berries were past the date when due

They gave me chills, high fever,

And such diarrhea, too!

.

And that prickly pear cactus syrup

Made my hand all sticky so

I could not draw out from my holster

Fast enough to shoot straight at my foe.

.

Just brew a pot of strong coffee —

But please not mixed with chicory —

I don’t want to be out there a’prancin’

Because I have to pee.

The showdown at the Hokey Pokey Corral became tense when Jed Washington asked “Is it left foot in then left foot, out or right foot in and right foot out?”

I said “DRAW”! Not paint; sheesh, we’ll be out here all day.

Bill was very serious about his views on the pineapple on pizza debate

I wonder….Did Ben Cartwright get his vest off a dead man?

As a means of resolving disputes/

We choose to hang back with the brutes/

I am sorry to say/

The American way/

Is that too often somebody shoots.

Hey, can we skip the gunfight and go back to eating breakfast? And you forget about me saying that my horse looks like yo’ mama?

My hands, what do I do with my hands

production assistant taking photos on the set of “Rust”.

Jed will be a dead man if he doesn’t realize he has to draw his arms and pull their triggers.

It’s a scene to rival “High Noon”/

Outside the Dead Dog saloon../

An insult was spoken/

and an old friendship broken/

as a dolt confronts a buffoon..///

The source of this altercation?/

Nothing less than “the fate of this nation”,

an ad hominem crack/

about Joe Biden’s lack/

of solutions to rampant inflation..///

Now, somebody’s certain to die -/

and you know the reason why/

one’s a CNN man/

and one’s a Fox fan-/

and one called a lie “a lie”///

They rode 20 years together,/

through all manner of vile western weather:/

They stood back to back/

against Injun attack-/

but today they’re a-slappin’ leather..

Tuscaloosa, Alabama on December 6 at the University of Alabama ??

If your opponent has an itchy trigger finger, you should first offer him an antipruritic product which contains pramoxine. I would suggest Preparation H, because it can also be used to relieve his saddle sores.

“I say it again: DANCE, you ornery varmint! And not a minuet or The Funky Chicken!”

I said we’re having Cream of Wheat for breakfast.

And I said I want Malt-O-Meal.

Weird angle. If green shirt misses, his bullet could strike a horse.

Horse in background, “um, could you move that down the street aways?”

I can’t get Buster Scruggs out my head.

You are all seeing a completely different picture posted than I have. Does anyone else have the painting by Stuart Davis of the man painting and Egyptian mural?

I get the feeling that the artist had a secret fetish for horse butts and just looked for excuses to paint them.

“Showdown of the Fifty Foot Men.”

Proposed poster for the opening scene of the new TV western “Gunsmoke.”

First, make sure they’re loaded.

The gunfight proceeded after a “Yo mama” contest in the bar.

The artist drew before the shootists could even go for their guns.

He was tired. It was a busy night last night at the bordello where the ladies insisted on playing with his gun, though at first he misunderstood. Now, however, it was too late that Jake remembered that his bullets were still in his holster belt and he never took the time to reload!

The horses in the background appear to be discussing the possibility of a recurrence of the event that caused the Waco Kid to throw down his guns and crawl into a whiskey bottle.

you kissed my boyfriend, you die.

You sayin’ I can’t have any Gray Poupon?

Those are fightin’ words mister!

Is it twu what they say?

Oh! It’s twu! It’s twu!

Referring to the new Masterpiece #3229:

/// In the Palace at Knossos in Crete,

a new mural was nearly complete.

Friendly Critics now wonder

if intention or blunder

explains knee-length tan socks, but bare feet.

Winter Sun

Paste (including the quote marks)

"Winter Sun, Collier’s illustration, July 7, 1951" Heritage

(syntax supported by the Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ecosia and Yandex search engines) in the browser address bar (or search for it using one of those search engines) and choose the first link found for info about this foot square, oil on cardboard painting.

It currently isn’t in Mr. Melcher’s blog. An image of the painting at another website is accompanied by:

      Copyright © Saul Tepper / Artist’s Estate

So, it can’t be put on WC. Info about Saul Tepper (1899-1987) can be found in and links pointed to by his Wikipedia page. First work by him used here so far.