W.L. reflections

Recently I read a quote about famous western author Louis L'Amour on wikipedia.com, the online encyclopedia. As a young man, my grandfather associated with L'Amour in small town Oklahoma. Based on my grandfather, i think men from that era (the Great Depression) all grew up with a certain set of beliefs or attitudes. If this quote from wikipedia is true of L'Amour, it's certainly true of my grandfather:

Louis L'Amour was not only one of the West's best-selling storytellers; in many ways he typified the consummate Western man, proud of his accomplishments and shy in his remembrances. - "Looking Back: An Interview with Louis L'Amour" by Jean Henry-Mead

Setting foot in my grandparents living room, I first notice the bookshelves full of leather-bound L'Amour titles. I'm not sure if they own everything he's ever written or just his novels and short stories, but the collection is huge. Next I notice my grandfather's knack for storytelling. Still a master at old-school narrative jokes, he'll work his creations into normal conversation:

"You know a friend of mine had to take his wife to the doctor's office."

His audience replies as one would expect; not realizing this is the opening line of a joke. He carefully tells the tale as if recalling it from first hand memory -- never letting on he's reciting a simple story leading to a punch line. Usually the joke leads to light laughter from the audience and a welcome opportunity to change the subject of conversation. He craftily inserts his jokes at appropriate points in the ebb and flow of the room.

Talking to my grandfather in private, I've learned much about his life. He enlisted in the Marines to fight in World War II before he was 18. He served in the Pacific theater and presumably saw what war was like. Most of his stories related to his down time. He became a good swimmer and would often take off in the ocean, seeking adventure. He learned to play cards and would, in moderation, play with fellow soldiers. One time he found an abandoned jeep on the beach and claimed it as his own. He drove it around his island, again, seeking adventure. He completed high school while on a ship and returned home to North-Central Oklahoma ready to attend college.

while holding down a full-time job and with a new wife, he completed college in under four years with a 4.0 G.P.A.. He went on to work for Conoco Oil and became something similar to an accountant. Still in the reserves, he spent weekends training men for the Korean War and his weeks both working and raising two young daughters. At some point in time he and his wife learned to fly. By the time his third daughter was born, it became something of a family tradition to fly small aircraft. At some point in the late 1970's or early 1980's, my grandfather retired from Conoco and the Armed Forces.

That's about the same time I was born and started to interact with him. In that time, he's built his own aerobatic biplane, perfected his hunting skills, volunteered his time to various organizations, founded a church, developed a patent for a cross-bow cocking device and learned Spanish -- all while running four miles every morning before the crack of dawn. I'm sure I've only scratched the surface of what he's accomplished in his time -- I'm only basing this list on what i can remember of what he's personally told me.

This brings me back to the quote regarding L'Amour: proud of his accomplishments but shy in his remembrances. He's never revealed any of his accomplishments with any hint of self-indulgence or vanity. Even while leading a full life with many unique and grand experiences he's not allowed his relative success and accomplishments to distort the fact that he is simply a man. He doesn't view himself as any more important than other people. I think he's proud of what he's done but refuses to buy into the egocentric idea that he is better than others.

Perhaps a quote from L'Amour himself can indicate the attitude these men have --

When interviewed not long before his death, he was asked which among his legion of books had he liked best. His reply was, "I like them all. There's bits and pieces of books that I think are good. I never rework a book. I'd rather use what I've learned on the next one, and make it a little bit better. The worst of it is that I'm no longer a kid and I'm just now getting to be a good writer. Just now."