Zane Grey: Story i Just learned from my Mom

[TheHobbyist]

I assume most people know who Zane Grey was, author of many, many, old Western books.

Had the family over the other day at the farm here, we were joking telling stories and just enjoying good company.

My mom tells me that her roommate in college (around 1968 or 1969) was quite the character and so were her family.

It turns out her grandma dated Zane Grey when she was younger and dumped him because 'he was a dreamer' and she didn't think he would amount to anything or be able to provide for a family.

Wow!

 

[PatriotX]

Pretty cool.

I have most of Zane Grey's books on fishing, and he was a pioneer in several techniques for landing huge fish on split-bamboo rods and linen line.

I think Grandma was right about the 'dreamer' part.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Wonderful imagery and character development-My Mom influenced m to read Mr. Grey.

 

[Targets Guy]

Just finished "Riders of the Purple Sage" one more time.

 

[e3mrk]

Very few Books can keep My attention for long But His do.

 

[opoefc]

Zane Grey had a great collection of S&Ws, including some killer engraved models, which I had the pleasure of exhibiting at the 1975 NRA meeting in San Diego as part of the S&W Collector's Assoc booth display. Zane's guns were lent by a member for the display and I returned them after the meeting. Unfortunately, his home was later robbed by burglars who took all the Zane Grey guns. Ed.

 

[rwsmith]

That's ultra cool.....

... to have an encounter with a famous person but my fave writer is Louis L'Amour and books like 'Hondo'. I've heard Zane Greys' described as 'colorful'.

"The bright yellow sun was setting behind the blue mesa, deepening shadows on the purple sagebrush as the dark cowboy rode, silhouetted against the wide blue sky riding into the gathering red clouds on the horizon."

That's 'colorful' all right. Does anybody get this impression or do I need to try some more Zane Grey books?


I know Zane Grey is a great writer and a lot of people like his books, and I didn't know he wrote more than 'westerns' so maybe I should give him another chance.

That's pretty funny that she thought he couldn't make a living for being a 'dreamer'. John Lennon said he was a dreamer and when he died he had considerably more 'coin' than I'll ever see. I'm kind of a 'practical dreamer' and haven't made beans over the course of 60 years.

 

[walkinghorse]

I believe it was Hell I was There, by Elmer Keith, in which he told a story of guiding Zane Gray and party on a horsepacking hunting trip of 30 days or so. In the end Keith said that Zane Gray stiffed him out of the fees for the trip. Will have to find my copy and reread the details, but Keith wasn't complimentary of Zane Gray.

 

[ddixie884]

He wrote that in Six Guns too. Said the checks bounced.

 

[model70hunter]

My Dad read Zane Grey. It was an easy step for me. Dad was an engineer with several majors and an English minor. But he still loved to read westerns. He never said so but I know he felt like he was born a century late.

 

[rwsmith]

"Shriek!"

He started a club to hunt porpoises. His first catch was harpooning a bottlenose dolphin.

He was a ba-a-a-a-ad man.

Now when he was fishing for fish, I can appreciate that.

 

[Ed Fowler]

What your grandmother did not consider is the fact that "you got to have a dream, cause if you don't have a dream how you ever gona have a dream come true?"

Long live the dreamers!

 

[sceva]

I prefer his books about the Ohio Frontier, Betty, Ebenezer Zane etc.

 

[Onomea]

Amazon's Kindle Store has his novels for free.