'Gunsmoke' trumps glitter, rock and roll...

While several of my friends are headed over to Thompson-Boling Arena to see The Eagles, I'm eased back on the couch watching "Gunsmoke."

Guess I never was meant for glitter, rock and roll...

"Gunsmoke" is something of an institution. It ran in primetime for 20 years and 635 episodes, the latter of which is still a record for a scripted American television series. It is television's best western -- without a close second.

My two favorite periods are the early 30-minute episodes (1955-61) and the hour-long color episodes (1966-75). The half hour shows were lean and mean, the writing cogent and crisp. The color episodes -- the best of 'em anyway -- are like mini movies.

Part of my fondness for the show is connected to family. My late grandfather Wayne Wyatt loved this show. Back when I lived with my grandparents, he'd often poke his head in my room about 7 and say, "Is it time for Marshal Dillion yet?"

Papaw told me "Gunsmoke" was the only program my great-grandfather would watch on television, coming down to my Papaw's house each Saturday night in time to root on Marshal Matt Dillon.

My dad loves it, too. We'll often compare favorite episodes we've seen lately when we talk on the telephone.

I also like to listen to the radio show when I can't sleep. It stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, Parley Baer as Chester, Howard McNear as Doc Adams and Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell. The show, which ran for nearly a decade, pioneered the use of sound effects and is darker and edgier than the television version. Listen to episodes here.

My friend Dean Harned surprised me on my birthday one year by purchasing me an autographed photo of James "Marshal Dillon" Arness. I felt like I'd won the lottery.

My heroes have always been cowboys, and still are, it seems...

Beware the Ides of March! (and of dissing Caesar's poetry)

On this date in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was assassinated.

"Beware the Ides of March!" the soothsayer said. Caesar went to the Senate anyway.

Et tu, Brute?

My all-time favorite Caesar story comes from the time he forced his captors to listen to his poetry.

Here, let my friend and Gibbs High social studies teacher Dean Harned tell it:

"Yes, he mocked them for not appreciating it and threatened to crucify them upon his release. He also demanded to know how much they were asking in ransom for his return and made fun of them for asking so little. When he was freed he tracked them down and crucified them, though he cut their throats to hasten their passing because they had amused him."

Heh, heh. Now that, my friends, is funny.

If it weren't so late as I type this, I'd pull the Complete Shakespeare off the shelf and read the entire play.

Telling Lincoln about Lincoln

One of these days, if his daddy doesn't beat me to it, I will tell Lincoln James Harned all about his namesake.

My best friend, Dean, and his wife, Allison, are having a baby boy. With a little luck, he might even be born on March 13, my birthday.

A group of friends held the Harneds a baby shower this afternoon, coincidentally and appropriately Abraham Lincoln's 203rd birthday. It was quite nice. Class act, all the way.

Dean is a history buff, like me, and teaches it quite well to high school students. Like me, one of his heroes is our nation's 16th president.

I won't go into all the reasons. You know them. Sometimes I think Lincoln's humanity, his best characteristic, has been lost in modern-day politics and post-assassination martyrdom.

And yet, he's there, if you look. I will tell baby Lincoln about his namesake's humble origins in Kentucky, about his self-education, about his rise in Republican circles, about his debates with Douglas, about his shrewd political prowess, about the American scripture he crafted one November in Pennsylvania.

I will tell him that there are few heroes in this life, but that his namesake is one.

That is, if his daddy doesn't beat me to it...