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This
short but amusing story comes to us from H. Ben Johnson in Moulton,
Texas. Moulton's
population is about 1,000, but we'll let you know exactly after
the census.
It seems that
during WWll, Gene Autry
gave up movie making and joined the Air Corps. During his absence,
Roy Rogers became pretty popular with the young moviegoers, including
Ben.
A local theater
manager exploited this rivalry by running a double feature of one
Autry picture and a Rogers film, then having the kids vote on "King
of the Cowboys".
Ben had always
been a big Autry fan, but there was something about the way Roy
held back his tears when he had to shoot Trigger's mother (suffering
from a cougar attack). With this vision fresh in his young mind,
Ben cast his vote for Roy.
After his eyes
adjusted to the bright daylight, he realized he had betrayed his
ol' pard and trail buddy, who was also, let's not forget, a veteran.
Knowing what
he must do, Ben set his jaw, squared his shoulders and went back
and saw both movies again, casting his second vote for Gene.
That, dear
readers, is the Cowboy Way.
© John
Troesser
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