Rugged Stuff

My Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad

By R. Keith Rugg, 6-25-09

	"I wish I could be just like Ray!"

This is a Father’s Day piece, but I didn’t want to post it on the actual date, because I was afraid that if my father saw me actually pay attention to the calendar, it might give him (another) heart attack.  (He’s just about to get his Christmas present when I visit him at the ranch next week, if that gives you an idea of what kind of a schedule I keep…).

When I describe my father to people who don’t know him, my quick and easy description is “He’s just like John Wayne.” But in reality, I’m afraid that even the Duke falls short of matching up to Ray Rugg.  The John Wayne movie persona was a cowboy, and to a lesser degree, a war vet.  But my dad has accomplished so much more, has done so much more, and still isn’t done being so much more.

John Wayne was a movie cowboy- my dad is a real cowboy.  He grew up in the Old West on an Indian Reservation, breaking horses, packing dudes in and out of the wilderness.  John Wayne was a movie warrior- I grew up looking at the war medals on my dad’s office wall, medals he was awarded for saving the lives of other American soldiers in Vietnam.  Come to think of it, John Wayne was a movie lumberjack (North to Alaska, one of the greatest movies ever, based off of one of the greatest songs ever)- my dad used to drop trees, trim ‘em, drag ‘em, load ‘em and deliver them to the mill, all himself.

Above and beyond those tough-guy aspects of his life (check out the metal plate in his arm where his horse went over on him and he had to come eight hours out of the back country, and then drive his truck (stick-shift) three hours out to the hospital), my dad has been a successful small businessman for decades, raised and supported a family, given his time to such endeavors as the Search & Rescue, served on local and state boards and committees for wildlife and natural resource preservation, and more. 

With all that going on, you can see why my quick and easy description has been to tell people that he’s just like John Wayne.  But maybe I should change it to, “He’s just like John Wayne… if John Wayne really could do all the stuff his movie characters could.  But better.”

So here’s to you, dad, as we begin the Summer of 2009 and you’re about to pack even more into a life that puts any fictional he-man’s biography to shame.  L’Chaim, keep the beer cold, and we’ll see you next week!

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