~ My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys ~

My dad wasn’t really a cowboy, we had a few cows when we were kids, and when we lived in the country we always had a horse or two, maybe some chickens. My Grandpa traded horses for a living. My dad always said he had never in his life been thrown by a horse, the first time I even remember my dad getting on a horse he must have been about 48 or 49 and weighed 320 at the time. It was a green broke 2 year old Bay colt my Grandpa had, too much for me, tossed me on my butt before I even got started and I was a hoss myself at 15 and thought myself quite the horseman. My dad got up on him with ease for a man of his size, rode him around for a few minutes against several tries by the colt to unseat him, they finally got into a pretty big swarm, the horse bucked, jumped a few times and then stood straight up on it’s hind legs, my Dad’s feet must have been about 6 feet off the ground when he came loose, but he landed both feet firmly on the ground right beside the horse looked at me, said “Good, my record still stands” walked to the house and got himself a glass of ice tea.

The first movie I ever went to was in1969, “True Grit”. It was playing at the 64 Drive-In in Muskogee Oklahoma. John Wayne, Glen Campbell, Kim Darby, and Robert Duvall. I believe it won the Oscar that year for Best Picture. I went of course with my family in my Dad’s old White Ford Station Wagon. I remember when he sold that car, he bought a Green Ford Station Wagon. A 1971 Ford Country Squire LTD, Olive Green with wood grain trim. It had a fold down back seat and rear storage compartment way in the back. Held 37 people… well, maybe it held 8, but it was a big-ass car. First car I ever drove. Man, my Mom really freaked out that day, I don’t know but maybe I should have waited until my dad got home from work. That was the worst whipping I ever got, but hey, I was 12 and I had places to go. I’m just kidding, it wasn’t really the worst whipping I ever Got. It would be hard to pin point the worst. Anyway back to the movie. To save money we stopped on the way at Haley’s Dog House on 6th and Elgin and loaded up on chili dogs and sodas. Chili dogs were 10 cents a piece so we could afford to get enough to even take some home after the show. I can remember the price because 10 years later you could still see on the sign where Haley marked out 10 cents, then 15, and then marked in 25 cents. You could still afford to buy a box full. I can also remember how big I thought that picture screen was, it was huge. Of course I don’t remember much about the movie at that time, I was only 5, but I remember John Wayne and I can remember the sound that you can only get at a drive-in. I probably fell asleep before it was even over. Since then I’ve seen it several times I even own it now. I use to watch a lot of John Wayne movies with my Dad along with a lot of other childhood Heroes, like Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper, Randolph Scott, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Glen Ford, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, Clint Eastwood, and even my mom’s favorite, Victor Mature. Westerns were a big part of my childhood, Hell I even had a Gunsmoke lunch box. But I would have to say that John Wayne has always been my second biggest Hero, he was tough and straight like my Dad, you could light a wooden match on either one of their cheeks. They had the same smile. It was more in their eyes than it was their mouths. I miss my Dad, truth be known he was tougher than John Wayne, hardest working man there ever was, bar none. If I was half the man he was… well that’s all I can say about that now. I miss my Mom Too. I sure would like to see them again someday. Damn Good People, I was truly blessed to have them. I hope my Brothers and Sister remember them as I do, I hope my Daughter remembers me with fondness. I would like to thank my friend Barbara for making me think of writing about my Dad, she wrote a piece on her Dad, I tip my hat to you Mickey. And I would like to thank my friend Jay for sending me a picture of John Wayne today, came at a good time. I would like to thank John Wayne also, many times he has taken me with him on rides and shootouts, if not for only in my dreams.

“TOMORROW IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE,
COMES INTO US AT MIDNIGHT VERY CLEAN,
IT’S PERFECT WHEN IT ARRIVES AND IT PUTS ITSELF IN OUR HANDS,
IT HOPES WE’VE LEARNED SOMETHING FROM YESTERDAY.”
JOHN WAYNE
1907 - 1979