> A cowboy with a gun in one hand and a bottle of rotgut in the other walks out into the street in Dodge City. He stops another cowboy who just happened to be passing by. Sticking the gun into his face, he says "Here, take a drink of this rotgut."
> The other cowboy smiles politely and says, "No, thank you. I. . . . "
> "Take a drink!" shouts the cowboy, cocking the gun. So he takes the bottle and takes a long pull.
> He falls flat on his back, eyes popping and flame pouring out of his mouth. Then he struggles to his feet gasping for breath.
> "Here," says the cowboy, handing him the gun. "Now you hold the gun on me and make *me* take a drink."

I think I made the mistake of assuming that people today still watch the same kind of movies I did when I was a kid. I do that all the time. So, brushing aside the rule "never explain your joke" I'm going to explain what rotgut is.

In the old b&w Saturday cowboy flicks,the good guys always drank non-alcoholic sassparilla(sp?)and the bad guys drank rotgut whisky. It must have been strong and cheap, probably homemade and spiked with paint thinner and who knows what all.
Anyway, it wasn't good for you, tasted awful, and made you drunk in minutes. I guess that's how the bad guys got bad. Now with this information in mind go back and read the story. Or, spare yourself the misery. It probably isn't worth the trouble.
Howard