Day 10

Alright! Now this one is easy. I was born in Texas, and I am super proud of that fact. I am old enough to remember using outhouses and riding in a wagon to go to town.

I will share more about that another time. When I was growing up, you were taught your word was your bond, and you did not give it lightly. The same applied when two men shuck hands on a deal or words they agreed on.

The first time I saw a movie on TV, I must have been about seven or eight. We were at the home of one of my mother’s cousins, and they had a TV. I had never seen one before, and I was fascinated at seeing people moving and talking on that little greenest screen.

Funny, I do not remember the name of the movie, but I remember one of the actors was Alistair Sims. His face and expressions made an impression on me for some reason. When I saw him again years later in The Christmas Carol, I recognized him right away and saw his name in the credits.

That was my only time seeing a television because a few months later, we moved to California.

One weekend my uncle brought us to his home to spend time with our two sisters that he and his wife had adopted. The wonder of wonders, he had a television! The screen was a little bigger than the one I had watched before.

In those days, westerns were the number thing on television. CBS, NBC, and ABC had at least one western on at primetime every night of the week The VHF channels, which was the FOX, CW, ION, and KTLA of that time, also had westerns on every day, except on Saturday and Sunday, they showed westerns all day and night.

I became addicted to watching westerns and reading my books. There were so many western stars, and I remember most of them even today. But my first celebrity crush, and still is the man to me, was John Wayne. He was the man every man wished he could be, and every woman wished she could call her own.

I am not going to say I have seen all his westerns and other movies he played, but I bet I have come pretty darn close. However, there are four I saw one time and would not look at them again. They are The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Wake of the Red Witch, The Shootist, and The Cowboys.

If you have seen these movies, you will figure out why I will not watch them again.

Now, there is another actor I must mention. Most young people will not know who I am speaking of. He was a black football player. I am so proud of him because he was an accomplished American athlete and actor (even Hitler commissioned he do sitting for two paintings). He became a decathlete and football star. He was one of the first Black American players in the National Football League during the postwar era.

He appeared in many westerns. In Cheyenne Autumn, he was an Indian Chief, in The Professionals, he was a mercenary, in The Ten Commandments, he was an Ethiopian King, in Sargent Rutledge, he was a Buffalo Soldier, and he played a farmer with William Shatner in The Spider Kingdom. He was a big, good-looking black man and you should read about him. He is one of the blacks who paved the way for so many other black artists and entertainers. Now that I think about it, my husband fits right in with them. He was big and 6’4” Woodie Strode, and John Wayne

Enough about that. It is a subject for another write-up. For now, this is about my first celebrity crush, and John Wayne will always hold that position. So, now you know. Tomorrow I will share my proudest moment with you. Until then, stay safe, and keep the faith.