I woke up the other morning, went downstairs, and settled in staring at the television to catch up on everything that had happened overnight. There’s a whole lot going on now days, and there is plenty of news from all different kinds of sources and media. Along with that, there are plenty of different slants, interpretations and opinions telling you what you should believe and how you should think about things. I watched a little bit of CNN to get one side and then CBS to get another and finally FOX to get the exact opposite of what ABC had to say. All of these different networks had their sharpest boys and girls all shined up and beaming at the camera while rattling off the same “breaking news stories”. There was one fellow on CBS named Nate Burleson. FOX had Bill Hemmer, ABC had Michael Strahan and Craig Melvin was at NBC. It was remarkable how they all were reporting the same stories with remarkedly different facts, figures and conclusions. The girls were doing the same thing. I was getting a headache. I took it as long as I could, then all at once, it came to me. I can’t trust any of what’s coming out of their mouths. So why am I watching?
Desperate for some honesty, I grabbed the remote from underneath the couch where the dog likes to hide it. I switched over to the only honest man on morning TV, Mr. Jim Hardy of Tales of Wells Fargo on the Western channel. Mr. Hardy is actually a fictional character based on the life of Fred Dodge who was a detective for the Wells Fargo Company between the late 1800s and 1938. If you want to get a real grip on what life was like back in the days of straight talk and straight shooting, you need to tune in to my favorite early morning report on what was happening in the United States back in the days of very little to no law enforcement, goldrush prospecting, stage coach robbery and justice at the end of a Remington revolver or a Winchester rifle. Jim Hardy (a.k.a. Fred Dodge) was a man of few words, but when he spoke or pulled his gun, things got real quiet, real quick, and there was a good chance somebody was either going to jail or to the graveyard. Back when Mr. Hardy was on the scene, there wasn’t any backtalk or foolishness like you see on the streets of Chicago or in the halls of Congress now days. Hardy was kind to little children, respectful of women, and straighter than a tight string. He had no use for bankers, politicians, and most especially none for stagecoach robbers. Hardy’s horse was faster than a locomotive and smarter than the average tenth grader.
Fred Dodge’s law enforcement career included the arrest of Jesse James, Cole Younger, the Dalton Gang and countless others in the Southwestern old west. His best friends for years were Wyatt Earp and the rest of the Earp brothers. Dodge worked for Wells Fargo & Company for the better part of his life. He was an honest, honorable man, and we sure could use more of his kind today. Mr. Dodge died in 1938. Tales of Wells Fargo, starring Dale Robertson, can be seen on YouTube TV and Roku TV, and he’s the most honest man I know of on morning TV.
