Stormbringer's Thunder

"It's kind of a sad thing when a normal love of country makes you a super patriot. I do think we have a pretty wonderful country, and I thank God that He chose me to live here." — John Wayne Buona sera, Pilgrims and Pilgrettes. Yours truly still has a Duke buzz going. After watching John Wayne movies and reading some biographical information, I see more than ever that he was the embodiment of strong American values. Something that bothered me on a quotes page : "...major American motion-picture Actor who embodied the image of the strong, taciturn cowboy or soldier and who in many ways personified the idealized American values of his era. " "...of his era"? Say it ain't so, Joe! Not only do his values apply today, but we need those values. He did not want to get on a soapbox and preach. Instead, he'd say it through his movies. But when he did speak his mind, it was straight to the point. Just like he did in his "pictures". ...

"Courage is being scared to death - and saddling up anyway." Buon giorno. Now that festivities and difficulties surrounding Christmas are over with for a while, it's time to get back to the business of daily living. And writing. "Are you going to be a cowboy again, Uncle Bob?" Yep. Well, people do expect it of me, don'tcha know. I've been thinking about being a cowboy. (No, I don't mean that I'm going to be a poser and dress up in the full western regalia, smoke long cigars, drawl and do other things that movie cowboys do.) What got me thinking about it was when a woman called me a cowboy one time. She was making a joke, but I started thinking about it after that and realized that it has some truth in it for me and my father as well. What does it mean to be a cowboy? Sometimes it's a derogatory term, meaning someone who is reckless. When used in the proper context, I can understand this usage because someti...