“Pops, why in westerns do the good guys almost always wear white hats and the bad guys wear black hats?”
“White symbolizes good, black bad.”
“In this movie Hoppy’s the leader of the good guys but he’s wearing a black hat and black clothes.”
“Well, Roy, that’s his signature outfit. Everyone on both sides can recognize him.”
“What if one of his own men makes a mistake and shoots at him? It could happen when everyone’s firing their guns at the same time and riders get in each other’s way.”
Roy, who was five years old, was watching an old black-and-white cowboy movie on TV on a Saturday morning with his grandfather.
“What does La Zurrona mean?”
“Loose woman, in Spanish.”
“How did she get loose? Was she a prisoner who escaped?”
“The name of the town isn’t meant to be about one woman. At least I don’t think so.”
“You mean there’s more than one loose woman?”
“There are many loose women.”
“Did you see that, Pops? Hoppy has a bullet hole in his hat! The bad guys are riding away. Do you think Hoppy knows any loose women?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he does.”
“They’ll be glad to see him.”
Roy’s grandfather got up from his chair.
“I’m going to make some tea for myself, babe. Do you want anything from the kitchen?”
“Uh uh.”
When his grandfather came back into the room ten minutes later, Roy told him, “There were a lot of people in the street when Hoppy’s posse rode into town. Most of them were cheering and all the girls were trying to kiss him. Now Hoppy and his guys are in a saloon. He showed one of the girls the bullet hole in his hat. That one there with the golden curls.”
“I can see.”
“Are these women the loose ones?”
“You bet.”
Later that afternoon Roy was with his mother in a grocery store waiting in the checkout line when he asked her, “Mom, were you ever in La Zurrona?”
“I don’t think so. Where is that?”
“I’m not sure, maybe Mexico. Pops says there are lots of loose women there.”
“He would know. Why did he tell you this?”
“Hopalong Cassidy and his boys rescued them from a gang of bad guys.”
“Oh. What was the name of the movie?”
“Rough Night in La Zurrona. It was still daylight, though, when they took over the town.”
“The really rough part happens after dark.”
“The movie ended when everyone was celebrating in the saloon. What do you think happened at night? And if Pops knows, why didn’t he tell me?”
“Come on, Roy, it’s our turn. Help me put our groceries on the counter.”