Gunsmoke . . .

One of the most popular and long lasting T V shows featured the character of Marshall Matt Dillon , a Tall , no nonsense Marshall in the old U S West .
There were many gun duels on the main dirt street . Many great supporting actors were included to give the series a well rounded atmosphere .
Obviously gun duels meant death but at least each participant in the duels went to their fate knowing that there was a strong chance that they may have finished their last meal . At least it was not a case of the decedent having no say in the matter but suddenly being taken away regardless .

Fast forward to our current times . We still have gunsmoke , in way too many times each day but , in my opinion , a much more cowardly manner .
I’ve been a member of the adult population for a much longer time than many or most of you . Here in America , in non-war environments I have seen many people , suddenly and tragically , leave our midst even on live TV . I was in my military early twenties when in October of 1963 President Kennedy was slain , Soon afterwards his accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was killed even when surrounded by the Dallas , Texas Police . In a short time after that , his brother Robert F Kennedy was shot in a hotel kitchen in California when running as a presidential candidate . The Rev. Martin Luther King , Jr. was shot by rifle fire in Memphis , Tennessee while standing on a hotel balcony . Years later I was tuning in a new satellite TV system and had a raw feed from Egypt to NBC on the screen when I and my customer saw the…