Cowboys and Indians

If we weren't watching them on TV we were playing them in the woods outside our home. Our imaginations were fed by the plethora of television shows that pitted frontiersmen against Indians. Our generation had grandparents who were not far removed from the lore and legends of Indians and  subsequently the cavalries were marching across the  TV screen, riding their horses shooting the Indians who in turn were shooting back their bows and arrows. The good guys and bad guys were clearly defined and history took creative license as the depicted the conflicts.  In our young minds it was fodder for creative play. Out to the woods we would go, most vying to be the cowboys and me always wanting to be an Indian. Why, because I wanted to walk barefoot in the woods, and step so quietly on the leaves and twigs no one could hear me. I wanted to hide where no one could find me. I was an Indian at heart and determined to outsmart my brothers who needed to find me to shoot their pretend guns. I could fashion a bow and arrow from a branch and protect my territory and be a leader among my imaginary people. I could change my hiding places and move around as they searched for some sign. I was there in the  moment and our games would go on for hours until the sun was sliding down the sky and there was a loud bull horn voice coming from the house "time for dinner."
Did I outsmart my siblings, did I pull it off and keep them from finding me?  The answer depends on who you ask. You can guess what I would remember.
Back home the TV was on; The Lone Ranger, Hop-along Cassidy, Roy Rogers, Davy Crockett, Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Hawk-eye and the Last of the Mohicans, Gene Autry, Gabby Hayes, Toombstone Territory, Sheriff of Cochiee,Oregon Trail, and more and more kindling for the young eager minds of children who craved adventures. The uncharted frontiers have changed dramatically over the years, but not the desire for slaying the new wicked
and singing the victory song.