William A.
Cummins Cowboy

Journal

Uncensored and unedited reflections from a self-made
cowboy – engineer – author – speaker.

Issue No. 110
- $2.98                                              Saturday, July 23, 2011

“William Cummins’ account of life as a
cowboy, cook, housekeeper, horse trainer,

entertainer, singer-song writer, engineer,
public speaker, office manager, and

just plain nice person made me
laugh, ponder my life, and even weep.”

Kirby Rogers,
Ph.D., Award-Winning Author

What Made Gene Autry,
Smilin’ Bill, and Roy Rogers Heroes?

By William A. (Smilin’ Bill) Cummins, Award-Winning
Author

You can sum it up into three words. Horses! Women! Friends! They loved
their horses; they loved their women; and they loved their friends! These three
corners of their lives received a very special kind of behavior from each of
these men. It is called “Gentleness.”  

In a recent article posted 07/20/2011 in the LA Daily News entitled,
“Entertainment legend is back in the saddle again,” staff writer, Bob Strauss,
noted that a special quality of Gene Autry was his “gentleness.”

According to the article Gene’s wife, Jackie, summed Gene up this way, “I think that he taught me to be more
introspective,” she said. “I had a great deal of energy; I still do,
but there’s a style in which he operated that made me feel very good. I don’t
know how to explain it to you, except he was just so gentle, and he made me
become gentle.”

You feel the same way when you think about Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
In fact, all the cowboy heroes of bygone years observed the quality of
“gentleness.” That’s the way I felt last week when Dr. Kirby Rogers posted his
thoughts about “KING and the COWBOY” on http://www.amazon.com
 calling me a “just plain nice person.”

I felt a little awed while on book tour last year, when The Kenton
Times newspaper posted an article about me that included references to Gene
Autry. He has always been my cowboy hero, so it was a dream-come-true to be
associated with Gene in the same article.

Perhaps it is our first love of horses that drove us to the “gentle”
side of life. Every horse lover learns early-on that the key to gaining their
trust is “gentleness.” It is a very simple and logical step to transfer that behavior
to our wives, family, and friends. 

Gene loved his horse
Champion, Roy loved Trigger, and I loved King. Each of us headlined as a team
during our time in “showbiz.” Our horses taught us, and never let us forget
that our relationships were built solely on Trust, Respect, and
Gentleness.  Learning those traits early
in life enabled us to lead wonderful, exciting, and fulfilling lives.

Order autographed copies of “KING and the COWBOY” from me or: http://www.caipublishing.net

“Don’t forget to send your immediate
thoughts to me after reading the book.”

[Smilin’ Bill Cummins welcomes your
questions and comments. You can
send a comment or cancel his messages at: wacummins@clearwire.net]