My family had a set of Time Life books all about the Wild West. I think they were given away at some point after I left home. I found one of the books from the series years later at a thrift store and snapped it up. There's something about looking at the faces of these grizzled old men, the kids trying to look tough, clutching their rifles. Photos of young men with the noose around their throats, waiting the minutes to their execution by some forgotten sheriff. This was how they chose to use their brief time here, riding and fighting. I guess I don't understand. It's one thing to sing about being something like that when you're listening to Bon Jovi. It's another to actually live as one.
What do I know? They have their picture in a Time Life book, and here I am staring and wondering if I should throw some orange into their violet beards. Think someone will do that for us in a hundred and fifty years? I guess those condemned men achieved a greater effect with their time than I will.