Good wholesome entertainment...with a twist.

From time to time I get messages from my old friend Lukas P. Short concerning items that he finds interesting and I've passed some of those on to you guys. Today, however, Luke has dropped by the DOUI offices to share something special he thought might interest our readership. So Luke I'll let you take it from here.

Howdy folks, I sure do appreciate Stew allowing me to hitch up to the Dictionary here and let ya'll in on something I've learned about recently. Just like most of you folks I just love a good movie and if it's a Western, well that's all the better. Being a cowboy myself, I love those tales of life in the old west or just a fine yarn about cowpokes out on the trail. Why many is the time as a youth that I would watch William S. Hart, Tom Mix, John Wayne, or the like ride the range fighting outlaws or just runnin' a herd, and I'd dream of being out there too. Now, these days I don't get to the picture shows as often as I'd like but I heard there's a new cowboy flick out that has all the critics and similar folk excited. Since I haven't had a chance to get out to it yet I sent my old friend Jesse Hogsweat out to take a gander and report back. Jesse and I met up on our instant message service last night and he gave me his review. Let me just say now that he told me some things that may seem odd but there are good explanations for them.

LPSHORT: Jesse are ya there? Durned fool computers, can't get this...

Hog-sweat1: I'm here Luke.

LPSHORT: Howdy pardner, did ya get a chance to see that Brokeback Mountain movieshow I told ya'll about?

Hog-sweat1: Saw it this afternoon. I liked Lonesome Dove so much I wasn't going to miss anything by McMurtry. Acting was good but I must admit I did have some prejudices about what I saw.

LPSHORT: Well, let me have it Jesse, I can surely take it.

Hog-sweat1: Well you said it was a cowboy movie so I went in with a preconceived notion of what I was going to see. It was a bit shocking to find out that they were... well it's hard to say...

LPSHORT: Jesse, you usually don't mince words, let it out son...

Hog-sweat1: Well, ok... herding sheep.

LPSHORT: Come again.

Hog-sweat1: They were actually not herding cows it was sheep.

LPSHORT: Hmmmm, that is a bit odd. But Jesse, you know that we shouldn't be prejudiced against those sorts of people. A man has to get work as he can. You don't know whether he was born into that sort of work or whether something changed down the line. You might remember in college you experimented with being a pig farmer.

Hog-sweat1: You're right Luke, I shouldn't hold it against them.

LPSHORT: Tell me some more about the film. Did it do justice to the great Wyoming countryside? How were these sheepherding cowboys portrayed?

Hog-sweat1: Well Luke to be honest my diverticulitis was acting up so I was in and out of the theater but I don't think I missed anything too important. They were out on the range watching the sheep, sweeping vistas of God's country,showed'em with their wives... let's just say they were some lucky gentlemen.

LPSHORT: Purty were they?

Hog-sweat1: Indeed they were. Well, they face what cowboys throughout time have; the cold, coyotes, and a desire for the one thing we sometimes keep hidden.

LPSHORT: Camaraderie?

Hog-sweat1: No, whisky. Something every cowboy needs on a cold night. Why, in one scene it's so cold I'm sure they broke out a couple of bottles. I missed it due to my episodes but the look on some of the men's faces in the audience told me they must have made durned fools of themselves.

LPSHORT: Like the time I put that horse blanket over myself and demanded to be called King Tootin'common due to my bean induced flatulence?

Hog-sweat1: This had to be worse I'm sure. Well their wives, as wives are wont to do, don't understand them and the bond that makes them men. You know what I mean Luke.

LPSHORT: Did you just use the word - wont?

Hog-sweat1: Ya, I been learning some new words lately.

LPSHORT: Well, I'm proud of ya boy.

Hog-sweat1: Thanks Luke. Anyway, they keep up their friendship over the years but have trouble as we all do in life. It really is sad to see them and how things turn out but we all know that's the sometimes sad, lonely life of the cowboy.

LPSHORT: Thanks Jesse, I appreciate ya. Hope the bowels get to workin' properly.

Well, there you have it folks. Brokeback Mountain seems to be a good cowboy picture with a bit of a twist. Who'da figured the twist would be that they were herding sheep? I know I'll be seein' it the first chance I get to. This is Lukas P. Short, signin' off. Ya'll have a good day.