I like Wyatt Earp but I also liked Matt Dillon.

I am a child of the cowboy movies.  When heroes were the good guys. I grew up sneaking into movies on Saturday mornings to see a Cowboy Movie, a comedy, a cartoon and a Serial. Drinking a nickel coke and a ten cent bag of pop corn.

The cowboys were Tom Mix, Roy, Gene, & Rex Allen. (There were many more of course) I liked the Comedy (like the  Three Stooges), Cartoon Daffy Duck, the serial I remember one was Rocket Man, BUT THE MAINEST THING WAS THE COWBOY MOVIE!

Being in Deadwood and seeing where Wild Bill had been just whetted my appetite. So on our trip to N. Platte, we noticed we had a few days so I suggested we go on down to ‘DODGE CITY’, Kansas.  On the out skirts was some stock yards, they still ship a lot of cattle evidently. Now if you were a cattle man you would have said “That smell like money!”  But to Easterners it smell like sh—, well….. manure!

After Sherry found us  a RV spot for the night we drove around. Shucks, this looks like any city, where is Matt Dillon, Doc, Kitty and Chester? Back to the RV Park and talk with the Manager. Oh, you want to go to ’Old Dodge City?’

“Yeah why you think we drove 1800 miles? To see a regular 20th century city?”

So we got directions to the Old Mock up of the old western town.

First place was Boot Hill. I loved reading the Tombstones. such as:

 

Of course we went to the Long Branch and had a Sarsaparilla.

But Honestly it was fun.  Even driving around New Dodge city, they have some beautiful Murals depicting the glory days of the town.

One high light was an old Steam train ride. Entertained by “Darrel, Darrel and the other Brother  Darrel.”

What most disappoints me, is honestly Matt Dillon is never mentioned. No one appreciates the fact that truly ‘Gunsmoke’ brought attention to the town.

It is true that Wyatt Earp & Bat Masterson did exist and cleaned up the town (according to history), but to most folks, James Arness was bigger than life.

I even like Willie Nelson’s song, “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”.  There has been an image in my mind of good, honest hard working men who said what they meant and meant what they said.

Thanks for coming by the log,

Nite Shipslog

PS:

Just the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.

—Carl Sagan

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(We are looking at our next motor home!)

But here is what I want to  tow:

1956 Ford Sunliner