Tucson Phone Slingers

In this episode, Tucson Phone Slingers . . .

He rode up to Miller’s Crossing just after sunrise and stopped at the Starbucks. Stepping down from the saddle he stood there for a moment, taking in the streets, parking lot, and empty storefronts. This scoundrel then slipped his "Colt" from its holster and demanded, “Name six gun-slinging dealers from Tucson, Arizona.”

You'd probably get as far as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday before you wondered whether Chick Bowdrie - Texas Ranger was based on a real person. However, if that same rascal insisted on six of your best gem contacts, most could oblige instantly.

This year's road trip to Tucson, Arizona, we whizzed by huge road signs for Tombstone. Visit the historic OK Corral, 100 miles, exit 303. There you can relive the pistol-toting, wild west days. This got me thinking.

Gunslingers sported two well-worn leather holsters with Colt six-shooters, dressed in frayed denim, a bandana tied around their neck, dusty, worn boots, spurs, a black flat crown hat, and a faithful strawberry roan. OK, you've caught me; I've read many Louis L’Amour westerns.

However, after visiting a local coffee shop in Tucson, the contrast between the modern-day "cowboy" and the debonaire image seen on television is radically different.

In the not so wild west, today's cowboy is clean-shaven, a manicure, dressed in pressed denim jeans, a dual-pocket embroidered shirt, a broad-brimmed Stetson hat, polished boots, a Rolex, and a fine leather sheath strapped to his belt. The latest smartphone hovered below his gun hand, and a quick-flip, six-inch knife at the other. The horses? Under the hood of their climate-controlled, ¾ ton, four-wheel drive pick-up trucks.

You soon realize you're not in California anymore when you witness the following in the local coffee shop. With the precision of a gunslinger, these modern-day "cowboys" draw their phones from their wide leather belts with the huge buckle to pay for their coffee using an app. Then with a flip of the wrist, the knife punctures a hole in the plastic lid, so the coffee flows freely. It's quite a sight.

A few years ago, at the Tucson gem show, we stumbled across a booth where you could still purchase a crafted leather holster with a pearl handle Colt 45 six-shooter, a Winchester rifle, and rather large knives that a Texas Ranger might have carried.

The characters hanging around this booth wore bearded poker face with grizzled expressions. You've seen the type, tobacco chewing, manly men.

Draw - their smartphone slides from its holster. They snap a photo, and the conversation goes something like this; "Hey, Jack - you there? These pistols are a steal, only $1,200.00 (I'm sure I can talk this guy down). I'm sending you a photo; give me an honest opinion, no bullshit." In the meantime, Lori is standing about 20 yards away, watching this spectacle, hesitant to come near this booth.

"Can you blame her?” I’m thinking the coffee shop is a little more civilized.

So, remember this year in Tucson, remain on high alert for that phone-slinging tough guy who pokes you in the back and blurts out, "Hands in the air - give me your best deal, or I'll post a video and tag you on Tic Toc."

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening; see you in the next episode.

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