Golly, we sure have been beatin' this topic to death, and I'm sure the Colonel is turnin' in his grave as we speak.
Having known a few good ol' boys of that generation, I have to echo the sentiments of some folks on this thread who have pointed out the fact that it was a
different time.
Not too many decades ago, there was an old boy who lived in a town just south of my place. His name was Bill Carson, but for some reason, everybody called him "Base Bill." Bill always rode his horse into town, and he was never seen without a long-barreled .45 Colt strapped to his hip.
One day, Bill was going up north for a week or so to visit his daughter and he asked his closest neighbor to watch his ranch while he was gone. "What should I do if I find anybody messin' around your place?" the neighbor asked Bill. Bill's reply was fairly typical of that age and generation. "Just shoot 'em," he said. And, by golly, he meant it. Like I said, that wasn't too long ago, and people at that time just accepted that type of behavior...at least in this part of the country.
I never met Colonel Askins, but have read some of what he wrote and some of what was written about him. I know many of his colleagues in the "outdoor writer" world had a few misgivings about him, but not knowing the man, I can't say. I think I
can say, however, that he was definitely a product of his environment, which was pretty darn rough, to say the least.
I guess the bottom line is...I'm a little hesitant to say something derogatory about a guy when he's not there to take a swing at me if he's offended by the truth.
