JOHNYS BIG DAY

Johny took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his brow as he looked across the herd of cattle.
"God it's so hot out here in this damn sun. I can't even take off my shirt cause I'll get all sun burned up then." Johny thought.
He lifted his legs up one at a time off the saddle as they stuck to it through his pant legs.
"Theres got to be a more exciting way to make a living, a more exciting life somewhere." He got lost in thoughts of being a famous gambler in one of those fast paced cow towns like Abilene or Kansas City. He hummed as rode along the herd far away in his dreams.
Johny was nineteen years old with a ninth grade education which isn't that bad for south Texas. Had been working for his uncle Dave on his ranch for two years. He started as help around the barns mucking out stalls and hauling hay and grain and such. He worked his way up to a cow hand where he worked on a horse most of the time. He didn't have a real girlfriend but there was a girl in town that he was in heat for, Celeste was her name. She worked in the diner where Johny ate sometimes when in was in town. Usually during the day when they'd go into town to get supplies for the ranch, or the weekends when everybody goes in to let off some steam after being stuck out here in the endless and empty prarie. Is that the same as in love? Maybe, it depends how old you are I guess.
In any case, Johny got tired of the boring life on a ranch and headed to the excitment of Abilene where he took his life savings of three hundred and fifty dollars and decided to try his hand at poker with the big players. On the first saturday night, at the first table, at the first game on that table, Johny had a hand that he knew he was going to win with. He had played poker in the bunk house back at the ranch with the other hands for matchsticks and had done fairly well. He always considered himself a good judge of character with an ability to read peoples faces. There were three other men at the table, all seemed to be experenced players. Didn't matter to Johny. He had two pairs, threes and jacks in five card stud.
"Can't be beat." He thought to himself. "I'v got to bet big on this one, get a good stake to start off with."
"I'll bet two hundred." Johny said as the bet came to him.
"I'll raise you a hundred." Said another player. Johny knew in the bottom of his stomach that this dude was bluffing. He knew it.
"I'll call." Everyone else folded but Johny. Johny laid down his threes and jacks with a big smile. "Two pair mister, tough luck buddy." The dude didn't say a word as he laid down his cards. Three fours a king and an ace. Johnys face fell like a ton of bricks as the guy raked in his winnings.
Johny pulled his coat together to keep the wind off of him as he rode in the dark out of Abilene on that saturday night.
"Well at least I saved the money I would have spent on a hotel room." He thought. He hummed as he rode along on his way back to south Texas.