The Paper • Page 2 • September 12, 2019
Singing Cowboy Heroes Cont. from Page 1
occur, Roy and Trigger and Dale, aided by their German shepherd dog, Bullet, and Roy’s grizzled side kick, Gabby Hayes, will chase bad guys over the mesa and through the purple sage. Good triumphs over evil. Popcorn is a dime, Coke a nickel. Days like this built dreams that shape America.
Growing up in the Missouri Ozarks, I worshiped three heroes: Heavyweight champion Joe Louis, baseball’s great, Stan Musial, and that singing, hard-riding, straight shooter, Roy Rogers. And, I wasn’t the only teen-ager to adore Roy. In one month in 1951, he received 78,857 fan letters, an astonishing number when you remember this was before a kid’s every move was dictated by cell phones and the internet existed only in the mind of Jules Verne. A major characteristic of these letters is these boys – and make no mistake, the vast majority of the letter writers were pre-teen boyswanted to thank Rogers for his friendship though many added a P.S.: “If it’s not too much trouble could you send me an autographed picture with Trigger and Bullet?” If the letter writer included his return address, he received a picture of Golden Palomino, Trigger, rearing on his hind legs, with Roy looking right at you, waving. The inscription? “Happy trails to you.”
Give Us This Day Our Daily Chuckle This week, a compendium of wit, wisdom and neat stuff you can tell at parties. Enjoy!
••••• No matter how big a hammer you use, you can't pound common sense into stupid people. ••••• •••• I chose the road less traveled. Now, where the hell am I? •••• Saaaaaay! You look like I need a drink! •••• Money investors have a remarkable facility for predicting the past. •••• THESE ARE ACTUAL COMBY RECEIVED PLAINTS "THOMAS COOK VACATIONS" FROM DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS: 1. "I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger
What made Roy Rogers such a hero among boys of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s? According to Dr. Franz Leopardo of Brown University, who has studied major stars from Shirley Temple to Johnny Depp, Roy’s main appeal was “ . . . his easy manner and authentic ways. His attitude was one of genuine concern for his fans and he spoke to them as if they were the most important part of his life.” That may be true. But in my humble opinion, the fact that Roy had a smart dog, a magnificent horse and a lovely wife who, if she couldn’t cook, could certainly sing, were important considerations as well. How He Got His Name
Born Leonard Franklin Slye, in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1911, Rogers appeared in 100 motion pictures. In his autobiography, "Happy Trails: The Story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans," he stated his stage name was bestowed on him by executives at Republic Pictures when he became their new singing cowboy replacing Gene Autry, who had moved on to greener pastures. The Rogers surname came from Will Rogers, the beloved western comic and storyteller who had recently died in a plane crash in Alaska. The first name Roy, came from the French word for "king," as in "Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys." Roy said he had no input at all in his renaming decision. The new Roy Rogers watched movies of Will Rogers and adopted nuts."
2. "It's lazy of the local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallarta to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time -- this should be banned."
3. "On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food." 4. "We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price."
5. "The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room."
his affable, unassuming style. The result was his films - mostly Westerns – often appearing opposite his wife, “Queen of the West,” Dale Evans - were a big hit from the very first. Amazingly, his career spanned sixty-three years. During that time, Rogers also recorded twenty-seven best-selling albums, (he played 5 instruments including the clarinet, saxophone and piano), and toured with several musical groups, the most famous being Sons of the Pioneers. Roger’s recording “Tumbling Tumble Weeds” first marketed in 1934, sells thousands of CD’s today, though Roy died in 1998, at age 87. Another of his songs, “Cool Water,” recently received a big boost when it was featured in a Coen Brothers movie “The Ballard of Buster Scruggs.” Roy’s iconic tune, “Happy Trails” was written by Dale Evans, and is an evergreen hit. Career and Personal Challenges
Rogers, like many other celebs, received scathing criticism from religious leaders in his march to stardom. Why? When he and Dale Evans married, she became his third wife; Roy her fourth husband. (Unthinkable in the eyes of many Christians at the time and a blatant sin for such professed believers as Roy and Dale.) Roy’s first marriage to Lucile Ascolese, ended in divorce after their daughter died in childbirth. Roy’s second wife, Arlene Wilkens, died shortly after a difficult labor and birth of daughter
(I side with the VFW on this one. I strongly agree. The American Flag should not be trivialized by turning it into clothing - tennis shoes, boots, underwear, pants, caps. I also realize the fox has left the hen house on this issue, and the defacing of our flag will continue, often done in the name of patriotism.) How to Handle Criticism
Be that as it may, Rogers responded to this criticism in a novel way. He sang and recorded the National Anthem at the American Livestock Show in Kansas City, putting that rendition and six other songs in a record with the proceeds generated going to an America veteran’s organization. As they say, all pub-
Singing Cowboy Heroes Cont. on Page 3
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8. "No-one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared."
12. "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair."
10. "We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi
During WWII, Rogers also came under fire for wearing American flag-inspired shirts and Necker chiefs at rodeos and personal appearances - the first big name star to do so. The VFW and American Legion suggested his movies be boycotted since, “. . . he fails to give the sacred American flag the respect it deserves.”
Company Description Health & Life Insurance Agent and Broker, in the business for over 47 years.
drivers as they were all Spanish."
9. "Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer in the drawers."
Roy’s response to these travails? “If there were no valleys of sadness and death, we could never really appreciate the sunshine of happiness on the mountain top.”
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6. "We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow."
7. "They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax."
Robin Elizabeth, who passed within days of heart failure.
11. "The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guide book during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun."
13. "I compared the size of our onebedroom suite to our friends' threebedroom and ours was significantly smaller." 14. "The brochure stated: 'No hair-
dressers at the resort.' We're trainee hairdressers and we think they knew and made us wait longer for service."
15. "When we were in Spain, there were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish, the food was Spanish. No one told us that there would be so many foreigners." 16. "We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no airconditioning."
17. "It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel."
Chuckles Cont. on Page 11