When Do Political Losers Need To Wear A Gun?

This is political season, and there are winners and losers, and always a lot of tall tales about the characters of the past. The losers, of course, have the privilege of going down to Goat Rock. Been there, done that. But there's another one that always comes up after the primary elections that has to do with a losing candidate wearing a big sixshooter. Some say the story involved Jess Morgan after he lost a race for City Commission. Others say it had to do with a long-time Hall Countian who ran for Sheriff. Anyway, the story goes like this:

In the days when winning the Democrat primary was tantamount to election, we often had bushels of candidates running for various offices, and this particular year there were 14 candidates for Sheriff. One, in particular, figured he could win easily because he could count more than 400 relatives in Hall County. There was no runoff election at the time; whoever got the most votes in the primary was the Democrat nominee and since the Democrat party totally dominated, that person would be elected Sheriff.

Well, the election came, and our sure-thing candidate did NOT win. He lost. But the next morning after the election he showed up at the Court House wearing the biggest, meanest looking .45 six shooter imaginable. Whereupon the Court House gang reminded asked him: "What are you doing with that pistol on; you didn't win the Sheriff's race?"

"I know," he said, "but I figure anybody who has 400 relatives in Hall County and only got 22 votes NEEDS to wear a gun."

It seems to me we used to take voting more seriously than we do now, but I also think we had a lot more fun . even if the losers did sometimes feel the need to wear a gun,

This is Gordon Sawyer from a window on historic Green Street

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/9/189804