Riding Into the Sunset

With a cloud of dust and a mighty “Hi Ho, Silver!”

And so they are gone.

All of them now that you took that last ride.

It was not a good year for cowboys,

The heroes of thousands of saddle pals.

Roy left us this year

And so did Gene.

Hoppy’s been gone for years

And so have all the sidekicks

Along with Trigger, Topper, and Silver.

You were the last of the cowboy heroes

From the golden days of TV westerns

And the golden days of childhood.

The masked man with silver bullets.

The last of my childhood heroes.

Leaving me now in a world sadly devoid of such things

As heroes.

My young son needs all of you,

But the world has gone electronic

And old cowboys, no matter how brave, just can’t compete.

But the Mario Brothers don’t wear white hats

Nor tip them to the ladies.

No one on Playstation or Nintendo teaches what is good

Or to stand up for what is right

No matter the odds,

Or that the good guy always wins.

So many lessons in black and white

Lost now in a color world.

I’ll miss you, Kemo Sabe

And, altho’ he doesn’t know it,

So will my young son.

MFM

12-28-99

4:08 PM EDT

Headed north on the Florida Turnpike

Near Ft Drum – Okeechobee County

 (Written after hearing the news that Clayton Moore had died.  I was on the way back “home” to Lake Worth, Texas.)