Free Preview: Playmate of the Month December 1972 - Mercy Rooney
She lived on a New Jersey farm until she was six years old, and her fondness for the country life and animals lingered long after her family's move from the East to Los Angeles; so it was logical, when Mercy Rooney saw a rodeo last summer, that she'd fall in love with it. Here's how it happened: "I was deeply involved in clothes designing for a couple of years, and eventually I began to specialize in leather. Through a series of contacts, I agreed to do some leatherwork for rodeo contestants and decided I should go see a rodeo myself in order to get an idea of how the clothes should function." She got the chance a short time later, driving north along the California coast to the vegetable valleys around Salinas, where a major rodeo was being held. Everything about it impressed her: the spectacle, the crowds, the athletes and their ladies, and she formed some interesting perceptions about the sport. "Most people think of rodeo as man conquering beast - men riding bulls, roping calves, that kind of thing. That's not it at all. Rodeo is actually man conquering his own body, being able to control it and make it work the way he wants it to. The real pros are very disciplined people; with discipline comes skill, and that's what makes the whole thing a treat for fans. Riding rodeo is a beautiful, graceful art when a person's really good at it." During the Salinas event, Mercy met somebody who's probably as good at it as anyone ever gets: five-time all-round champion Larry Mahan. "La...
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