Thanksgiving’s coming up this week and so is my birthday. I’m turning 79. Hold the applause.
Growing up, I always thought I was getting ripped off sharing my birthday with Thanksgiving every few years, but looking back I realize I was pretty lucky.
Having a birthday when people are in a thankful, giving mood got me some great presents in this job, the kind you can’t buy.
The Reel Cowboys gave me a gift-wrapped present of humility and kindness I’ll never forget. They were a group of tough old movie bad guys — the ones Marshall Dillon always outdrew in front of the Long Branch Saloon in “Gunsmoke.”
Most of them were shot and buried before the first commercial. They never got to be the good guys in the movies, but in real life they were all John Wayne to me.
They gave me my present at a local women’s shelter — a safe house — where mothers and their children could come and hide from abusive husbands and fathers.
When these old movie cowboys walked in, the kids literally shook with fear and hid behind their mothers. They were that afraid of men.
The Reel Cowboys got down on their hands and knees and gave the kids horsey-back rides. They neighed and swung their heads back and forth, and they laughed. Pretty soon, the kids were laughing with them.
“Look at those silly men, mommy.”
They treated those scared kids like fathers should treat their children, with love and laughter. They showed them there are good men out there — men they didn’t have to be afraid of.
After a few hours, the kids didn’t want them to leave, but they had to go. As tough as these old movie cowboys were, the emotional toll on them was high.
What kind of man hits a kid? They didn’t know any, but if they ever ran across one, he’d be lying in the dirt, out cold, before the first commercial.
Kids have given me some great presents, too. One of my favorites was given to me by Lexie Flores, 5, who taught me to never underestimate the heart and resolve of people…
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