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opinion
Also in this section: Bernal, The canal and the constitution Leis, The nation lacks equitable and quality education
John Wayne's jacket by Bill Phillips In 1963, Betty and I stopped in Galisteo, New Mexico to purchase a scarf. We just happened to pick a place that designed clothes and costumes for the movie industry. The owners were artists and clothing designers and very upscale. I was shown a jacket that was destined to be worn by John Wayne in True Grit. A later viewing of the movie confirmed this. Since they had me there, they wanted to use me as a "clothes rack" to get an idea of how it would look and fit. I should explain to the reader that I had, by this time become very tired of John Wayne, the actor as well as the man. As a boy, I believed that they were one an the same and I stood for four hours outside of a hotel where he stayed at the chance that I might get an autograph of my favorite hero. I think that it was the scene in Red River, where Wayne, as the boss of a cattle herd, beats up and humiliates his son. The unrestrained fury that Wayne exhibited led me to realize that we should all be afraid of this man. Wayne represented power and a narrow form of justice that was attached to the personal political and philosophical views of whatever hero he portrayed and to the way that some Americans liked to think of themselves. Basically, these were the values that Hawthorn and Melville examined so thoroughly in their novels, The Scarlet Letter and Moby Dick. These novels exposed the underside of such thought. This should explain why I was a bit edgy about putting on the jacket. Wow, it felt like me in a much diminished sort of way. I tell you, I had plenty of room to grow! I am sure that when John Wayne tried it on that he felt very much like, well, What DID he feel like? His real name was Marion Morrison. Now there is one for you. What would John Wayne, the actor, do to a man named Marion Morrison? Was Marion Morrison's shadow behind every sleazy gun slinger, every "diabolic" Japanese soldier, every "kraut" commandant, countless Sioux and Comanche warriors and all of the other villains in the Wayne movies? Was Marion Morrison the man who stayed home, while John Wayne, the actor, participated in Hollywood versions of the major battles of World War II? A therapist would be required to look at that question, but this does not keep us from asking it. The point is that we all have a jacket problem, even John Wayne. So, yes, this was a time of measurement for me that I will always remember and it helped me to settle that odd feeling that I get when I attempt to wear the best of the great value words such as love, charity, forgiveness and faith. Each one is a challenge and I am continuously reminded that when I wear them I have on a jacket that is too big for me but that I must try to grow into.
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