The reliable VCR captured a 1932 movie the other day titled The Tenderfoot starring Joe E. Brown. It was about a laughable Texan visiting New York City who caught the eye of some theatrical producers who thought they could con him out of his savings. (Spoiler alert: They did, but he got the last laugh.)
But here's what got my attention. The character played by Brown was Calvin Jones from Beesville, Rawhide County, Texas. Funny enough for olden days, but what makes it hilarious today was that he bought his guns to town, and no one gave it a second thought.
Here he is retrieving his two six-guns from the hat check girl at a lunch counter and boasting that he could put a hole in a plum at 200 paces without making a wrinkle.
What a contrast with today. Mayor de Blasio would have a cow -- a Texas longhorn, for sure. Mr. Jones would be doing felony time, his lawyers would have his savings, and the town would be no safer.
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