<< DOCKERGANDA ~ MAIN ~ MUGABE LOSES, WINS >>

KNIFE TAKEN TO GUN FIGHT

Country singer Billy Joe Shaver, who has many fans in Australia, has one less fan in Texas:

At Papa Joe’s he was sitting at a table on the back patio with several other patrons, including a 50-year-old man named Billy B. Coker ...

Something seems to have annoyed Shaver—some patrons thought it was Coker stirring a drink with a hunting knife—but whatever it was, the two men stepped out back to settle their differences. Moments later, Coker staggered back inside, his face a wet smear of red, a bullet from Shaver’s .22 pistol lodged in his mouth. Shaver and his wife were long gone.

Another patron said Shaver posed something of an existential question just before the shot. “Where do you want it?” he asked Coker.

At least he asked.

(Via Piers A. and Kinky F.)

Posted by Tim B. on 05/13/2007 at 08:42 AM
  1. Billy B Coker?  - Thats a name that’s asking for a whupping.  He must have good reflexes though to catch a bullet with his teeth.

    Posted by surfmaster on 2007 05 13 at 08:54 AM • permalink

  2. Well, you know, this is fairly normal for Texas.  As a result, people are usually very courteous to each other.  At least the men are.  The women can cuss and swing a fist at a guy and it doesn’t pose a problem.  Hell, men like a good woman showing her spunk.

    Posted by wronwright on 2007 05 13 at 09:07 AM • permalink

  3. Only a .22? Jesus, what a sad commentary on the parlous condition of country music today.

    Posted by Don't Bogart that Midget, Comrade! on 2007 05 13 at 09:17 AM • permalink

  4. Note I said “a good woman”.

    (wronwright remembers Andrea paddling him for writing that very long Monty Python quote with words separated by hypens, that broke Andrea’s page, even though it was probably due to some cheap shit software Andrea was using then; said paddling having happened in front of a crowd of RWDB’s with wronwright’s back being turned away)

    Posted by wronwright on 2007 05 13 at 09:17 AM • permalink

  5. Some things just make you nostalgic for your childhood.  And some things don’t.

    (Psst, wronwright.  It’s okay, we didn’t look.)

    Posted by RebeccaH on 2007 05 13 at 09:55 AM • permalink

  6. 67 year olds are allowed to shoot .22s at 50 year olds in Texas.  It’s a courtesy thing.

    By the way…never cheat at Dominos in Texas.

    Posted by Carl H on 2007 05 13 at 10:42 AM • permalink

  7. #6: How about at Pizza Hut?

    Posted by paco on 2007 05 13 at 10:54 AM • permalink

  8. Oh you can cheat at Pizza Hut, undertip, whatever.  But if you move a single domino on the table at a Texas bar you might wind up well ventilated by an old fellow in a funny hat, another courtesy thing.

    Posted by Carl H on 2007 05 13 at 10:56 AM • permalink

  9. From the article: “Shaver’s teenage mother, Victory, who went by Tincie, was a waitress at Leslie’s Chicken Shack, a legend in its own right among Southern-style fried-chicken gourmands. His father, Virgil, known as Buddy, was a bootlegger . . .”

    Perfect.

    Posted by paco on 2007 05 13 at 10:56 AM • permalink

  10. Actually, I read of a man who was asked why he carried only a .22, and not something larger.

    His answer?  “How many people do you know like being shot in the face?”

    Sounds like Shaver went to the same school.

    Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 05 13 at 11:13 AM • permalink

  11. I love reading about my old hometown on an Aussie blog. Paco, Leslie’s Chicken Shack was greatness. A full service fried chicken restaurant. Their mascot was a chicken wearing a straw boater hat with an umbrella tucked under his arm. If anyone in Dallas is interested, Brothers Chicken on Gaston uses the Leslie’s recipe.

    Posted by paulris on 2007 05 13 at 11:47 AM • permalink

  12. #11 Paulris: I love places like that. Sadly, they just keep disappearing as the tarted-up chains take over. There’s a country song about that, too, as I recall, but I can’t remember the name of it.

    Posted by paco on 2007 05 13 at 11:51 AM • permalink

  13. Country music, incidentally, seems to abound in stuff like this. I suppose that’s why so many songs seem to come straight from experience, and possess such personal authenticity. I’m partial to the sub-genre known as “Western Swing”, and one of its greatest exemplars - Spade Cooley - ended his career on a violent note.

    Posted by paco on 2007 05 13 at 11:59 AM • permalink

  14. What a lousy piece of journalism, far inferior to the piece on the vicious car attack previously linked by Tim.  It gives us no information on who cried.

    Really it should read something like this:  “Moments later, Coker staggered back inside, his face a wet smear of red, a bullet from Shaver’s .22 pistol lodged in his mouth.  Two witnesses cried.  The bartender also cried.  Shaver and his wife were long gone.  Authorities have not determined if either cried.”

    Where’s the darn cry count?

    Posted by dorkafork on 2007 05 13 at 12:17 PM • permalink

  15. (Via Piers A. and Kinky F.)

    Wait a minute. Both Piers Anthony and Kinky Friedman are fans of Timmy?

    Posted by Some0Seppo on 2007 05 13 at 12:26 PM • permalink

  16. Paco I love Western Swing; Bob Wills, Spade Cooley, all of it. There’s a Spade Cooley movie starring Dennis Quaid in production now, Shame On You, but I’m getting worried because it’s past due.

    Posted by paulris on 2007 05 13 at 01:11 PM • permalink

  17. #16: Thanks for the info on the movie, Paulris. I had no idea such a thing was in the works.

    Posted by paco on 2007 05 13 at 01:20 PM • permalink

  18. Here’s a little Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys: Sittin’ On Top Of The World

    Posted by paulris on 2007 05 13 at 01:23 PM • permalink

  19. #18: Ahhh ha! Here’s another.

    Boy, does this take me back. When I got out of graduate school, I was commuting to work between Raleigh, NC and Richmond, VA on weekends, and I used to while away the hours listening to such Bob Wills tunes as “Cotton-Eyed Joe” and “Cowboy Rag”. Used to throw in some Spade Cooley and Lightcrust Doughboys, and it made for a fine ride, let me tell you.

    Posted by paco on 2007 05 13 at 01:38 PM • permalink

  20. #12 There’s a country song about that, too, as I recall, but I can’t remember the name of it.

    “My Heart Got Broke in A San Antone Fern Bar”

    Posted by RebeccaH on 2007 05 13 at 02:05 PM • permalink

  21. #14, dorkafork:

    Since this took place in Texas, I doubt there was any crying at all. That is, unless there were any damn yankee tourists visiting.

    I do imagine there was a fair bit of discussion on shot placement and maybe a few remarks on shot tolerance though.

    Posted by Grimmy on 2007 05 13 at 02:12 PM • permalink

  22. #21:  Well, I intended that to be part of the joke.  I don’t think Texas bartenders get particularly weepy.  There couldn’t be more contrast between the two stories.  Imagine a country song based on the two incidents.  “My Wife Was Married To His Cousin And I Shot Him In The Face” versus “My Bike Got Run Over By Some Old Couple In A Minivan And I Cried”.

    Posted by dorkafork on 2007 05 13 at 02:48 PM • permalink

  23. Where’s the darn cry count?

    These are Texans, by God.  You won’t catch them carrying on like Californees or Loosianans…

    surfmaster—Hell, I caught a grenade fragment with my nose once and I wasn’t even trying…

    Posted by richard mcenroe on 2007 05 13 at 04:06 PM • permalink

  24. #22, dorkafork:

    I figured you were just joshing, but I have a reputation as a humorless, misreading droog to protect.

    No offense intended.

    Posted by Grimmy on 2007 05 13 at 04:45 PM • permalink

  25. Paco - if you like Texas Swing and Old Timey Texas music, Id like to recommend these fine folks: Back at the Ranch

    Don’t let that sweet little thing, Rachel, fool you into thinking she just warbles away as back up.  She belts out a yodel like the best of ‘em and commands that bass with aplomb.  Hubby and I found out by way of their first album that they had three of his cousins on there as part of an ‘interview’ series about growing up in Texas.

    Posted by Sharon_Ferguson on 2007 05 14 at 04:05 PM • permalink

  26. Page 1 of 1 pages

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

Members:
Login | Register | Member List

Please note: you must use a real email address to register. You will be sent an account activation email. Clicking on the url in the email will automatically activate your account. Until you do so your account will be held in the "pending" list and you won't be able to log in. All accounts that are "pending" for more than one week will be deleted.