I rolled out of my sleeping bag. ‘Twas almost six o’clock. My tent was by the campfire, and I’d slept hard, like a rock.
I threw the horses hay, and then I headed for the john, a rickety old outhouse. One worn hole to sit upon.
Right then I started thinking, there’s a restroom down the road! So, I grabbed two other cowboys. Next stop, a warm commode.
But then a dang old ranger dude came walking out the door. He said, “The restrooms aren’t for free. Don’t use them anymore.”
I didn’t want to make a scene. He had authority. But the parking lot was empty just as far as one could see.
We didn’t have a pass to get into the park that day. Just wanted nice warm bathrooms, but we didn’t want to pay.
So, we left there griping, made a solemn vow to come back soon. The ranger was a marshmallow. We’d show the big buffoon.
That afternoon at four o’clock we climbed into the truck and drove down to the restrooms. This time we’d have some luck.
We pulled up to the gate. Now there were six of us in all. We were mighty fearsome cowboys, prob’ly felt like ten feet tall.
But then the cutest ranger gal walked up to our truck door. She winked at me and then she smiled. My jaw ‘bout hit the floor.
She said, “We’d like it if you’d pay. We hope you weren’t misled.” I didn’t have a word to say. My brain had left my head.
She said, “It cost five dollars for the park facility.” You should have seen the wallets flying out to pay the fee.
We paid our fee and said, “We sure would like to keep the rules.” She could have asked five hundred. We were dumbstruck cowboy fools.
We tipped our hats and drove away with egg on every face. The little ranger gal had put us smack right in our place.
That night we sat around the fire. By then no one was mute. We slapped each other on the back and said, “She sure was cute!”
And then the men reflected how she’d played ‘em all like toys. ‘Cuz on that day one ranger gal made mush of six cowboys.
– Bryce Angell
