Chasing a Buffalo
It’s been a year now since Bill Moore (my uncle and friend) passed and went to heaven to find Larry McMurtry and kick his ass for killing Gus McCrae from the novel, Lonesome Dove.
When he told me of his plans a few years earlier, it sparked a rather heady discussion over several Lone Stars. I rose to the author’s defense postulating that McMurtry had given Gus a death befitting his character.
Gus was aging physically but still lived his life as only Gus could, from drinking, carousing and playing cards to being a favorite at any of the brothels and saloons dotting Southern Texas.
After surviving numerous scrapes with Comanches, Mexican bandits, and outlaws as a Texas Ranger; Gus was mortally wounded from chasing a buffalo when he was attacked by a hunting party of Lakota warriors.
He might have survived had he been willing to submit having both his legs amputated but he chose to die as he lived, drinking some fine whiskey listening to a whore playing a piano in a nearby brothel while his best friend was by his side.
My uncle passed pretty much the same way; his family was beside him and his sense of humor and sense of irony still intact as he left. He also lived the same way. Bill loved life as he loved his family and friends. He was also known to have “chased a buffalo” more than a few times in his life and I was fortunate to have been with him on several occasion, the earliest one being the time he hoisted me up in front of him on his motorcycle and tore off at breakneck speed as my mother and grandmother (his mother) chased after us on foot.
Bill’s loyalty and devotion to friends and family was unquestioned, but that didn’t spare us from his wit and sarcasm. One of his favorite barbs was when we showed hesitancy or doubt about one of his ideas or plans was “May I get you a couple of kerosene soaked bandannas to tie around your ankles to keep the ants off your CANDY-ASS?”.
He was also generous to a fault (if there is such a thing). He and his wife took in my cousin Daryl and tried over and over to help him. I got a letter from Bill after Daryl got settled in that things were so far so good and told me that though he and Charlotte had always wanted a house-boy, we’d never dreamed he would be white.
Bill showed us it was okay to chase a buffalo once in a while, whether it was toobing the Guadalupe River during a flood to just on the spur of the moment heading over to Luckenbach on a hot Sunday afternoon to drink a few beers and listen to some good Texas music.
I could go on and on about Bill, but I think I’ll close with this, I’ve seen and read epitaphs ended “Gone but not forgotten” but I’d like to say while he will never be forgotten, he’s not gone for in his generosity, he gave those he loved and cared for a piece of himself so he’s going to be around for a long long time. So don’t ever be afraid to chase a buffalo lest you need a pair of bandannas.
