Ghost Riders, 1949

“Joe Carpenter was telling a story about a mule. They were at Betsy's apartment on Gold Avenue, five of them in the small living room with the windows open to the May evening. Betsy and her fiancé, Clark. Sophie. Frances from her sorority, who laughed too loud and meant well. And Joe, standing by the bookcase with a beer in his hand, describing an encounter between his Uncle Vernon and a mule named Margaret. "So Vernon opens the gate," Joe said. "Wide open. Pasture right there. He says, 'Margaret, the gate is open. All you have to do is walk through it.'" Joe took a sip of his beer. He had good timing. He always had good timing. "Margaret looked at the gate. She looked at Vernon. She made a noise I can only describe as editorial."”

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