The Cracked Acorn: Old West

Mention James Arness to anyone, “Alive or Dead?” they will say “dead.” He was the star of the long-running TV show GUNSMOKE; the cast brought the family together for an episode each week. It was early TV, and it went from thirty minutes to an hour; critics predicted audiences would never sit still that long; how wrong they were!!

James Arness as Matt Dillon-Gunsmoke. CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

MATT DILLION, MARSHALL OF DODGE CITY, KANSAS, the early western days of trains and telegraph; Henry Ford was yet to be born.

“Matthew, there’s some hot boiled coffee on the stove; dust off and sit a spell. Miss Kitty is a mite upset that you are aiming to take on the Lomax boys and the Strutters when they bring their herds in, but it’s steel a fur days off!.”

“Festus, is this all the good news you have? Check the telegraph office for WANTED, check if there are any new people in town, and then bring me the bad news.”

Matt dealt with the liars, cheats, and people with hidden motives and agendas, each week ending not too happily ever after. The injured were attended to by Doc, broken arms and legs were painfully set, and he would stay by the bed of the dying all night, waiting for morning when the fever might break. Miss Kitty made sure that all the unfortunates that were to be buried at Boot Hill had someone to say a few words – she thought that even the worst deserved a moment of reflection.

The marshal always made time for a ride into the hills. While the unsaddled big gray had a roll in the buffalo grass and then grazed, Matt dozed under “clouds that ignored the plights of mortal men.” This was a man that was close to 7 feet tall. He believed in a simple answer for difficult justice. On the way back to Dodge, he would stop by the widow Smith with seven kids to check if all was o.k. Keeping the peace and giving equal treatment to everyone was a big job for a big man.

Samson was the big man of the Old Testament. He was given super strength by God. In many ways, he was a disappointment to his Creator, but he kept the Philistines at bay, and for a few years, the children of Israel could breathe easier. As a child, I was impressed that this strong man sought to correct his weaknesses; in the end, blinded, he prayed to God for one last chance to smite his enemies; God, how wonderful, answered his prayer.  “Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers(Philistines) and all the people in it, killing many more when he died than while he lived.” (Judges 16:30)

“Well, it’s time to catch the noon stage. The town’s a buzzin that Abe and Sarah had a baby out at the Ole Kristie Ranch. Crazy Joe’s riding up front today. Some say he can Winchester a notch into a coyote’s ear a mile away; that’s good in case of hostiles. A cold north wind is aggravating the sage, could bring trouble, mite be movin. May the road rise up to meet ya and that the good Lord will take a liken to ya’ll. YAH! YAH! YAH! Giddy-up!” (Numbers 6:24-26)