Walker's Way

Long after the Friendship Group read together the Western that Bill Greer wrote, Walker’s Way, I finally got my copy. It followed a three-hour coffee with Bill and a chance to get to know one another.

Bill shared some of his story and I mine. He told me of his love of the stories of Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey as well as the genre of science fiction. I don’t share any of these book choices, but I certainly grew up watching the Rifleman, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and of course the Lone Ranger. I knew what a Western was and how it was supposed to go.

Maybe it was the first page, certainly by the third and my body was jolted. My brain experienced an Aha! Moment and I couldn’t understand, I couldn’t believe, I could only accept. I knew what a western was supposed to look like. White cowboys, white sheriffs, Red Indians, and here was Joseph Walker, and he didn’t fit into what I thought a cowboy was supposed to be.

My perception took a jolt and all I could do was laugh at myself. ‘Of course,’ was all I could mutter as I read on and learned, was entertained and was exposed to another truth that my upbringing hide from me. It’s a great book, I hope you’ve all had a chance to read it.