We don't like foamers here, son. Now git! When our Lerro Productions photo freight stopped at the concrete trestle over Tailes Creek, just a couple of miles west of Maydelle, our leader, Pete Lerro, cautioned all of the patrons that we would be on private land and that the landowners would be meeting us to escort us to the photo location. So, most of us hung pretty close to the train awaiting their arrival. It didn't take long before folks started coming out of the woods....literally......one-by-one. The first one was a stern-looking lady with a rifle. Within a minute we were surrounded by about 9 people....all of whom were packing. Not wimpy little handguns.....long guns, rifles, shotguns....yikes! I'm not much into firearms and this made me rather nervous until Pete met with them and it became clear that they were friendly. They were actually hoping we could photograph them in costume, with the train....which we were glad to oblige. The above scene looks like the sort of greeting you DON'T want to see, as you wander the Piney Woods of Texas, looking for that perfect railroad shot. As noted above, I get a little nervous around people who are openly carrying firearms, particularly when I don't know them. You never really know what you're dealing with. I tend to watch them closely and see if they exhibit proper discipline, which tells me they care about the safety of folks around them. This group generally did well. The award for most professional handling goes to.....the young lady second from the left, with the riding chaps and the short, double-barrel "persuader." She always guarded the trigger and never let that muzzle come even close to being pointed at anyone. This clearly wasn't the first time she ever picked up a shootin' iron.
