It's fun to be able to pretty Adam Cartwright up, electronically. This is a "fresco" effect. This is from the episode, "My Brother's Keeper", where Adam accidentally (yeah, right) shoots Joe and then Joe is attacked by a wolf. It really wasn't Joe's day, because, after Adam hauls him home (Joe's good-for-nothing pinto, Cochise, ran away), then Adam has to play surgeon and cut the bullet out from under the bone in Joe's shoulder. Adam is a straight-laced sort of fellow, and doesn't even give Joe any whiskey to kill the pain. Nope, Joe gets to tough it out by chewing on a stick.
My husband likes this picture of Adam: "Adolf Cartwright. The one they kept in the basement. Kept s
etting fire to the barn."
Something weird happened to me this summer.
I made a birthday card for my younger sister that featured Michael Landon as "Little Joe" on Bonanza. She always liked the harmless "pretty boys": Michael Landon, Davy Jones, Paul McCartney, David Cassidy.
I, on the other hand, liked the intellectuals. The men who weren't reticent about their opinions. They had their own values and lived up to them, rightly or wrongly. Adam Cartwright. Palladin. John Lennon.
I liked "Adam Cartwright" best. In looking up "Little Joe" for my sister, I rediscovered Pernell Roberts. To me, he epitomized the penultimate man: thoughtful, intelligent, certain, passionate, strong, brave, virile.
I have started taping Bonanza episodes. I watch Adam over and over. I have started dreaming about him. I collect his pictures. I know that no real human being can ever really be Adam Cartwright. But I think men should aspire to be him!
Pernell Roberts is 78 years old. His son, who died in a motorcycle accident, was born before me. He is the only survivor of the original cast of Bonanza. I find that very sad. I hope he is healthy and lively. I have a major crush on his 30-something ghost. I wish men were all like he was.
Is this menopause????
etting fire to the barn."
