I had my laptop plugged in at a table just outside the dancers' dressing room which meant that sooner or later just about every gorgeous woman in the place wound up hanging out at my new digital office before the pageant was over.  The waitresses in particular sat near me when they had the chance but it was Mirage who kept sitting with me to watch me work on the pictures I had just taken of the contestants for M.S. Texas. 

Just 18, she was the prettiest looker in the place. Not only that--she kept getting me whatever I wanted starting with the energy drinks I needed to keep going and later on when the nights were coming to a close, several beers which she brought to me as fast as I could drink them in that last hour I had left between shooting the pageant and  the club closing in the early am. And once the shooting got fast and furious when there was not time whatever to break away from my Nikon D-1 X or the laptop I downloaded pictures into, she'd traipse off to get me a fresh pack of cigarettes when I ran out of smokes. 

Meanwhile Montana, hopelessly behind in second place after the first three nights of the competition showed what true champions are made when she surged out in front with her last performance of the pageant, winning all the marbles only minutes after the stroke of midnight announcing her birthday.   Terrifically exciting as it was, nothing could prepare me for what would happen months later. 

There is an aura about the state of Texas that contrasts sharply with what is certainly not the most scenic state.  Perhaps it's the friendliness of the people, or their overall self confidence or the fact that until the state of Alaska joined the Union Texas had been our largest state.  Or that Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett had been killed at the Alamo with every last man, slaughtered by Santa Anna's troops. 

The cry, "Remember the Alamo," was on the lips of every Texan as they fought their way to independence from the hated  Mexicans.  Those were the times Texas was filled with inhospitable Indians--Comanches, Apaches and others, the very names of their tribes in a bygone era when only the toughest men and women survived. 

Pit against the hostiles  were the Texas Rangers of whom legend has it that a single ranger could outfight a hundred times his number of Indians.  Our largest state had emerged from a past so extraordinary that the whole state adopted an attitude of "We are the biggest and the best", so much so that no matter how friendly Texans are it has often been said that if God had meant Texans to ski He would have made bullshit white. 

Which is a truthful statement, and if you don't believe me, keep in mind that I've skied at Sun Valley and gotten drunk with prominent former members of the Dallas Cowboys and you haven't, those very same guys I had been watching on TV and rooting against when they played the Old St. Louis Cardinals. 

Maximus hired me again, this time to shoot Miss West Texas over at their Abilene Club.  Only six months had passed but my little waitress had started dancing and was now competing for Miss West Texas.  When she did "Welcome to the Jungle" she brought the whole house to its feet with applause.  There wasn't a single  contestant among the feature entertainers and house dancers who didn't give her a standing ovation.  The pageant went on for four nights but by the time the smoke had cleared a new queen had risen over the state of Texas.  Mirage had eclipsed everyone, even the seasoned and glamorous feature entertainers. 

Up on the pole she wore Angel wings.  Never had I seen anyone better.  Always quick and agile, her perfect figure was one of a sex goddess.   But I didn't see it quite that way no matter what anyone else might have thought.  She was after all, my little waitress, my favorite waitress in Texas.

.

Already there is hardly an entertainer who can match her.  Funny thing is she's like the girl next door except the girl next door probably isn't nearly as nice, as true, as polite, as dependable, or as respectful as Mirage.  A dancer who's all these things!  Yes, you've got that right.  Every once in awhile one meets a woman in the adult industry who will make all the women in your apartment complex look as if they were just touched by the gremlins of poor taste and bad manners. 

But what I really want to know is just what's inside Mirage.  Sure, I already know she's one of those rare individuals  the human race should be proud of.  The thing that puzzles me is what makes her win?  Just what force of character enables her to come literally out of nowhere to take on some of the top entertainment talent this country offers and beat them all?  And just as puzzling is why this wonder, this beautiful girl who's about to burst onto the stage of superstardom to become one of the finest feature entertainers ever, should  decide not to go for what's surely within her grasp.

But whatever happens, those four nights shall never be erased.  For Mirage, it was a time for immortality, never to be forgotten when she stole everyone's heart in the place, mine included.  For this is what the really great ones can do.

  Jack Corbett

We never did a follow-up on the Xtreme Weapons calendar  after 2004 so there will never be another one like it. 

However, you can buy Extreme Guns and Babes for an Adult World by clicking the calendar picture.  It comes in three flavors, full color paperback, black and white paperback and as a Kindle e book above. 

But whichever edition you choose you will find 115 images of 26 topless stars accompanying the gun articles.