The Lone Ranger Had it Right

I grew up in western Colorado; as did my dad, granddad and great-granddad.  The culture of the West is bred into me.  When I was about 4, we got our first television set, and we could tune into the one TV station on the western slope, KREX.  I can recall quite clearly watching Roy Rogers, Wyatt Earp, The Lone Ranger, Gene Autry, Rawhide, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke and Bonanza through my youth.  There was also The Cisco Kid, Palladin, The Big Valley, The High Chapparal and of course, The Wild, Wild, West with that hottie Robert Conrad in his sexy britches! 

 The theme in all of these shows was that good always won out over evil, crime never paid, families stuck together, friendships were forever, and of course, you rode a good looking horse everywhere.  I don’t watch much TV these days, but I do enjoy it when I can catch a rerun of one of these. It strikes me that the “good guy” theme is a rarity in today’s programming.  So, lucky for everybody that there is not TV at the T Cross!!

Instead, if you have any energy left after supper, you can practice your conversational skills with new and old friends by the fire, play a card game, read a book, watch the stars, or just collapse into bed to dream about the next day’s adventure.  The T Cross is sort of its own reality show, but the “good guy” theme is always present.  It comes from Mark and Gretchen, their kids, the girls and guys who keep people fed and their rooms maintained and tidy, and from the wranglers.

I got to thinking that it’s because of what many of you have probably heard about or maybe read about:  The Code of the West.  It takes on many variations depending on who’s doing the telling.  I ran across this version recently, and I think it’s the truest, and certainly the one that has application in today’s crazy world.  But most of all, it’s the one you’ll see alive and well everyday at the T Cross.  Enjoy.

The Lone Ranger Creed

I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one.

That all men are created equal and that everyone has within them the power to make this a better world.

That God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself.

In being prepared physically, mentally and morally; and to fight when necessary for that which is right.

That a man should make the most of what equipment he has.

That “This government, of the people, by the people and for the people,” shall live always.

That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.

That sooner or later…somewhere…somehow…we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.

That all things change, but the truth and the truth alone lives on forever.

I believe in my Creator, my country and my fellow man.