February 20, 2003
Had a good meeting with Gus and Carole this morning. Thanked Gus for all the extra work he has been doing and gave him a key to the building. I’m very proud of Gus and he has really stepped up.

Got a great phone message from Buck Taylor (he was in Gunsmoke, Tombstone, oodles of Westerns). Sue came in and told me about it. Dialed it up and it just made me smile. He loves what we’re doing in the magazine and that makes it all worth while. I think we’ll include him in the authentic Westerns section of the December issue where we’ll talk about actors who can really ride. Most actors are so-so riders but every once in a while there is a guy who you just love to watch ride a horse. I would put Tom Mix in that category. Also Ben Johnson and Buck Taylor. And, surprisingly, Tommy Lee Jones in Lonesome Dove. Man when they are astride a pony it is a thing of beauty to watch them cantor across the screen. I would actually pay $6.25 to see a movie called “Buck Taylor Just Rides Around.”

Of course not everyone loves me. Here’s a nice little reaction to my journal: “It is a bit disconcerting, in any case, that your wife is a flaming liberal anti-gun type and that you appear to go along with her for the most part. I can assure you that 99 percent of your readers are not gun-control advocates. These magazines will only succeed if those who are responsible for their content know what their readers want and what their needs are.”

The last time I looked Kathy wasn’t on the masthead and if she was I guess I’d have to shoot her.

Had a Rotary speech at noon, way downtown at 44th St. and Washington. About twenty guys. Mostly oldtimers. Very civil group. They are so polite and they introduce themselves and ask caring questions. I think Al Quaida could benefit from having a few Rotary meetings. The guy who had Whitey’s TV back in the forties and fifties was there. I had a great time talking to him. His story tomorrow.

“Guns don’t kill people. Magazine editors on deadline kill people.”
—Old Vaquero Saying