I gave up regularly watching the alphabet channels for news a long time ago. Real news, so important to the country especially during WWII, has become entertainment. I realized this some time ago. In fact, it was the day the final findings on the events at Ruby Ridge came out and I tuned in CBS to get the details. No mention was made of Ruby Ridge, but considerable time was spent on the pending Barbie Doll shortage faced by Christmas shoppers.

In the few times I’ve tuned in what used to be America’s major source of news I have found most of the so-called news is about pandering politicians, pampered athletes and Hollywood elites. Where have all the heroes gone? Were things so different 50 years ago? I didn’t seem to have a problem then finding heroes in movies, on the baseball diamond, even in Hollywood. Was it just my youth or has everything changed?

Heroes still definitely exist, but I can’t find them in Hollywood, Washington or the sports arena. Lately I’ve been thinking (one of the great benefits of getting older) of both the heroes and helpers in my life. I would guess you can come up with the same type of folks who touched your life in a major way. Two real heroes have entered my life in the past few years. They’ve never been in a movie, they’ve never run for office, they’ve never scored a touchdown or hit a home run. In fact, nothing they do would give them even scant coverage in a newspaper. However, to my mind they are 10' tall and definitely heroes.

One of these men is Paul Moreland. Paul loves to shoot, especially big-bore sixguns, and when he visited me a few years ago we spent the day shooting .45s. Paul can’t own a .45 where he lives, however, several of his friends got together to buy him a Ruger Vaquero and I made him the belt and holster to go with it. He has to leave it in the USA and can only shoot it during the infrequent times he is here. We had a wonderful day shooting .45s. Two years ago when he was also in the country on a short visit he joined a bunch of us at the Shootist Holiday where he could have the real enjoyment of shooting many sixguns before he went back home.

Paul doesn’t live in the United States as he made a decision a long time ago to spend his life in another country. Paul and his wife and family live in Columbia. It’s not that he has anything against the United States, in fact, he would love to be here, he would love to be able to shoot anytime the sixgunning spirit moved him. However, he listens to a higher calling. Paul is a missionary. Whether one is a person of faith or not, Paul has to be admired. I consider him a hero for the simple fact he has given up the relatively easy life in America and instead spends his life following his beliefs and helping those in another country. His dedication is a rare commodity.

Two years ago, at the Shootist Holiday, my dear friend Sgt. Fermin Garza of the Corpus Christi Police Department introduced me to his older brother Henry. I knew right away there was something special about Henry other than the beautiful custom grips he fashioned for the sixguns of the Garza brothers. (My hope is he will become a professional grip maker. We sixgunners need him and his talent.) It was also obvious Fermin absolutely held his brother in the highest regard. Once I knew a little bit about Henry I had the same feeling.

Henry Garza is a cowboy and retired firefighter with 37 years service. He is more than a big brother as he actually raised the younger Fermin after his father died. Now comes the hero part. You won’t find it on a newscast or in any newspaper but it exemplifies what a real man Henry is. Many years ago Henry married a lady with a small child, a child who happens to have Down’s Syndrome.

Most men would run away from such a situation. Not Henry. That boy is now 18-years old and Henry has been a major portion of his life seeing to it he has as normal a life as possible. The two of them are inseparable and they do everything together. It takes a very special man to do this. I don’t believe I could. Henry is one of my real heroes. Neither Henry nor Paul will ever get any recognition except what you see here. They don’t expect anything, they just do what they know is right. It’s what heroes do.

There are many other helpers, too. In fact, if I gathered them all together I would look like the bespectacled little guy in the cell phone commercial backed up by a whole crowd of folks. I can’t write about guns until I get them. If something goes wrong with a particular gun, I need someone to make it right. If I don’t stay healthy, I don’t feel like shooting, taking pictures or writing. If I can’t see the sights, I can’t shoot. Every one of these areas demands helpers.

The Extra Mile

For 35 years I had my own FFL and for much of that time I was teaching, so I was not home during the day. In those years most firearms were delivered by UPS and only in recent times have signatures been required for the package to be delivered. It was common practice for packages simply to be left at the front door of the residence. During these three-plus decades I had three UPS drivers. All of them knew what I did and all of them made a special effort on my behalf. If they came during the day, they would not leave what they suspected was a firearm, but instead came back after they knew I would be home. They did not have to do this, they just did it to help me.

The same thing is true of my Fed-Ex driver. In fact, he would call me on his cell phone to see if I was home and, if not, he would leave a message. I would simply call him back, find out where I could find him, and pick up the package. He didn’t have to go this extra mile, he just did it.

He is not only a shooter, but his dad and the character actor Wilford Brimley worked horses together here in Idaho, and he also has brought his brother over to look at my hunting trophies. He’s not just a man in a delivery truck, but a real person. Both UPS and Fed-Ex take a big bashing over the cost and requirements for shipping firearms, however, this is company policy and has nothing to do with the drivers.
I dropped my FFL two years ago and now I depend upon the helpers at Buckhorn Gun and Pawn. Without them I couldn’t receive firearms and without firearms I couldn’t write. The guys call me immediately when a firearm comes in and often mount scopes and boresight them so rifles are ready to go. As important as these men are as helpers, two others in the back room are absolutely essential to me.

Glen and Tom are the resident gunsmiths and as important as my doctor in keeping me working. We have a great understanding. If I take in something messed up, they are not to ask me how I did it, but simply fix it. I also know not have to have everything tomorrow. I always let them know if I need something right away and they do their best to take care of me, however, I do not abuse the privilege by thinking everything I need done is so important.

My New Heroes

Without doctors I would’ve had to stop everything years ago. In fact, I would probably be dead now. In the July 2007 issue I told of Dr. Martinez who did the lens implants which made it possible for me to see sights without glasses for the first time in more than 50 years. He made it possible for me to keep working. I recently had another problem and a doctor new to me, Dr. Hartman, took me as a patient even though he does not normally accept those who are forced by law to be on Medicare. He just happens to be a shooter and took me as a patient because, as he says, we have to keep you alive so you can keep writing. These two men are not only at the top of the helper list, they aren’t far from being my heroes.

Forget finding heroes in the drive-by media. Instead, take a look at the real people around you. I’d be real surprised if you don’t find heroes and helpers.