The Right Coast

February 24, 2004
 
Oh dear, 77 percent Dixie
By Tom Smith

I'm 77 percent Dixie on this quiz. I find that a little troubling. It's probably unscientific, anyway. As you may know if you watch a lot of Westerns, lots of folks such as John Wayne went west after the War of Northern Aggression (just kidding!) and settled in the various Rocky Mountain states. There is some family legend to the effect that on my father's side people came ultimately from South Carolina, but as with lots of people who came west to farm, on that side of the family our origins are pretty obscure. On the other side too: they were Irish who came out to die in mines, provide security assistance to settlers whose relations with the indigenous peoples were complex, and fail miserably at farming, though respecting Idaho and potatoes, perhaps they were just ahead of their time. Good thing we discovered the law.

UPDATE: OK, such as The Searchers, the best Western ever? And others.
On a slightly related note, The Missing is now out on DVD.