"Mis Raices Estain Aqui!...My Roots Are Buried Here!"

[Codger]

A lot of people liked John Wayne, and a few disliked him. I liked him. Here are a few of his words. If you like this and want to read more, I will post more. If not, just ignore the post if it suites you to do so.

In 1977 he published a book "America, Why I Love Her" by John Wayne, with Billy Liebert and the poetry of John Mitchum. There was a record he did at the same time where he spoke the words of his book.

All of my life I've felt privileged to have had good friends around me, privileged to have been able to do the kind of work I know and love the best, and to have been born in a country whose immense beauty and grandeur are matched only by the greatness of her people.

For a number of years I have tried to express a deep and profound love for these things; to be able to say what I feel in my heart. And, now, in this book, I've had the chance to do so.

I know most of you feel the same as I do about some of her imperfections, but sometimes that's good. Especially if it gets us working together to make things better. It seems to me we often take too much for granted, and have a tendency to forget "The Good Things about America."

My hope and prayer is that everyone know and love our country for what she really is and what she stands for. May we nurture her strengths and strengthen her weaknesses so that she will always be a "Land of the Free, and Home of the Brave."

Sincerely,
John Wayne




On a trial drive from Texas, down by the Rio Grande,
We drove past the Medina to a dry and bitter land

Where before the longhorns streamed along, grass range once was there.
Now we herded them in silence with a feeling of despair!

The day was hot...the wind was dry, and the mesquite barred the way.
The maguey and the cactus tried to drain our lives away.

We came up to a ranch house dying in the desert sun,
Looked the old spread over and couldn't see anyone.

Then from the ranch house a man stepped out. He was old beyond his years...
A viejo caballero whose eyes filled up with tears.
"I have nothing for you, Senores," he said. "My hacienda's empty now.

There was a time..." He shook his head and gave a gentle bow.
I asked him why he'd stayed on in a place where hope was dead.
He looked up at me and his face grew soft, and this is what he said:

"Mis Raices Estain Aqui!...
My Roots Are Buried Here!"

Now, I've punched cattle from the Rio Grande to the cold Montana plains,
And I've pushed 'em through New Mexico and through Arizona rains.
I've seen ranchers hanging on when it's been forty-five below--

And the thought's always crossed my mind as to why they just don't go
To a place where life is easier and where nature's not so hard...

And then the past comes floating back, and I'm in that viejo's yard.
I think of him and his quiet pride and of the things that he has done,
And I know that if men battle back at the snow or the broiling sun,

They'll live their responsiblities to the land that they love best.
America will proudly stand and in her vigil will not rest,
For no matter what may lie ahead, the answer's loud and clear:

"Mis Raices Estain Aqui!...
My Roots Are Buried Here!"

 

[Codger]

What kind of man he really was is best described in his eulogies by friends Jimmy Stewart and Denis R. Graham.

John Wayne The Man


John Wayne was probably the biggest star in the world...yet he retained the qualities of a small boy. He had the enthusiasm for life that would make a high school football star envious.

And through it all, Duke never changed. As a man he was exactly the boy he started out. And as a friend...well, you just wouldn't want a better one.

In his lifetime, Duke stamped AMERICA across the face of the motion picture industry. Few other men, living or dead, have ever portrayed the fine, decent, and generous American qualities as Duke did.

He portrayed on screen the values he lived off screen. Gentle...so much so, it would have surprised his critics. Loyal...once your friend, always your friend. Courageous...if you doubt it, remember his fight against cancer, or the way he faced heart surgery. And decent. Above all, Duke was a decent man.

He was also far from perfect. He made his mistakes as I have made mine and you have made yours. All in all, I would say they were unintentional. Mistakes of the heart, I would say.

Let me say this about the John Wayne I knew. He was an Original. He was the Statue of his Times.

All in all, I think it was the man's integrity that speaks most of him. His principles never varied. Nor did his ideals. Nor did his faith in mankind.

Jimmy Stewart



Throughout John Wayne's motion picture career, with very few exceptions, he portrayed America and Americans. On the silver screen we were with Duke through the winning of the West, our victory over the evil powers of World War II, battling against nature, facing down the dangers of the not always "Cold War," and just facing every day life.

We were with him as he fought against British tyranny, joined the gallant men at the Alamo, met the call to duty in the second world war, and fought to stop Communism in far off Vietnam.

We were with him as he combated the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, fought against the floods of the Mississippi, battled droughts on the Great Plains, and survived and suffered losses from illness and injury.

And, we were with John Wayne as he loved and lost, raised families, fought against local corruption, and overcame personal tragedy.

What is different is that the John Wayne you see on the screen, is the man he was in real life. He didn't get the title, "Mr. America," for nothing. Duke was and is Mr. America. Decades after his death, he is still an inspiration of what is good and right about America.

Denis R. Graham