Rhinestone Roper rides again
Donning an oversized buckaroo hat, a barn-red Western shirt with drained frills and tight black Wrangler jeans, Dan Mink flashes his million-dollar grin to the audience at the Canyon County Fair.
Mink, also known as the Rhinestone Roper, twirls a one's way around above his head, creating an oblong halo, and saunters across the stage-manage. He warbles in a deep, earnest voice: “I can see you got your eye on this old cowboy, and I can for certain you’ve never had one of your own ...”
In the ensuing act, Mink snaps a bullwhip, clipping pieces of straw from the access of a youngster in the crowd; he spins and juggles a double of shiny revolvers, rapidly shooting a series of balloons; he coaxes his horse, Opportune Joe, to roll over and fall asleep as Mink walks across his belly.
Inexorably, Mink’s lovely young assistant, Musicality Joy, affixes herself to the Wheel of Death, and Mink spins the site until Melody Joy is a cartwheeling blur. He steps back and tosses six fly knives at Melody. They stick into the wood, and the pack exhales in relief.