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Post by dayton3 on Nov 24, 2020 0:04:31 GMT -5
More specifically, how did Zeb fight with Teddy Roosevelts Rough Riders? According to a gravestone, Zeb was born in 1865 which would've made him 33 years old during the Spanish/American War.
From what I've read about the Rough Riders, while there were some older members, they were former soldiers who had spent time fighting Indians out west and some Civil War veterans thrown in. Roosevelt had them in the Rough Riders to "firm up" the troops with some combat veterans despite their age.
Yet nothing we've seen indicates that Zeb Walton was a veteran of any kind when he joined. I don't see it as likely that the Rough Riders would've accepted someone in their 30s with no combat experience or skills specifically useful to a cavalry unit (despite Zeb being given the job of taking care of the mules). Much less would someone of his age be chosen to accompany the unit to Cuba for the advance up San Juan Hill.
Also of note, Esther Walton said more than once that she didn't try to keep Zeb from going because "all his friends were going" the tone of which would seem to indicate that Zeb was a younger man when he joined the war effort.
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Post by carol on Nov 24, 2020 14:53:38 GMT -5
In a the episode The Fox s4 ep 17 we find out that Zeb didn't ride with the Rough Riders. That he made up the story.
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Post by dayton3 on Nov 24, 2020 17:06:27 GMT -5
Actually I thought he did serve with the Rough Riders. He had a job tending to the mules. He was at the base of San Juan Hill but before going up it he stopped to save the life of the soldier who was shot. The man who came to see him at the end of "The Fox".
And note the Rough Riders did not "ride" at San Juan Hill at all. All their horses were left in the U.S. when they shipped out.
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Post by dayton3 on Dec 17, 2020 8:52:53 GMT -5
In a the episode The Fox s4 ep 17 we find out that Zeb didn't ride with the Rough Riders. That he made up the story. You are correct. I just rewatched "The Fox" and Zeb tells John Boy that he was never a member of the Rough Riders. Though of course we find out later in the episode that he was at San Juan Hill (presumably taking care of the U.S. Army's mules as he indicated that was his assignment by the Army) and that he saved the life of the young soldier who visited at the end. I find it ironic that one reason Zeb embellished his history in the Army was that he didn't want Esther to feel bad about the sacrifices she had made so he could go to war. To me the truth about Zeb and his Spanish American War service (implausible as it might be) only elevates his character in my eyes. |
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Post by Easton on Dec 17, 2020 9:50:34 GMT -5
Story telling was a 'thing' back then. It was entertainment. The stories were often exaggerated and blown completely out of proportion, but they entertained the kids who could listen to each story over and over again because each time was like a new story. Whether it was charging up San Juan Hill or landing a whale-sized catfish or tying a dog to the back of the train, the kids became wrapped up in them each time. They knew they weren't entirely true, but they were fun to listen to.
Quite often, though, the truth was often a better story, but not as much fun.
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Post by Johnny on Dec 17, 2020 13:28:40 GMT -5
Story telling was a 'thing' back then. It was entertainment. The stories were often exaggerated and blown completely out of proportion, but they entertained the kids who could listen to each story over and over again because each time was like a new story. They knew they weren't entirely true, but they were fun to listen to.
Quite often, though, the truth was often a better story, but not as much fun.
If you listened to Garrison Keillor over the years, telling stories of life in Lake Wobegon, a rural town in central Minnesota, "a town that time forgot & the decades could not improve". .Garrison carried this time honored tradition of storytelling, embellishing the truth, into an art form. Stories of Lake Wobegone came into our homes, very much as programmes did on the Walton's Zenith radio, each week on the Prairie Home Companion from 1974 to 2016. (42 yrs give or take). I listened weekly 1982 to 89. Like Earl Hamner, Garrison was first a writer. He spoke of Samuel Clemens as one of his influences. Certainly Mark Twain's story-telling found in his novels, still entertain us today. |
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Post by flyaway on Dec 18, 2020 18:45:25 GMT -5
Story telling was a 'thing' back then. It was entertainment. The stories were often exaggerated and blown completely out of proportion, but they entertained the kids who could listen to each story over and over again because each time was like a new story. They knew they weren't entirely true, but they were fun to listen to. Quite often, though, the truth was often a better story, but not as much fun.
If you listened to Garrison Keillor over the years, telling stories of life in Lake Wobegon, a rural town in central Minnesota, "a town that time forgot & the decades could not improve". .Garrison carried this time honored tradition of storytelling, embellishing the truth, into an art form. Stories of Lake Wobegone came into our homes, very much as programmes did on the Walton's Zenith radio, each week on the Prairie Home Companion from 1974 to 2016. (42 yrs give or take). I listened weekly 1982 to 89. Like Earl Hamner, Garrison was first a writer. He spoke of Samuel Clemens as one of his influences. Certainly Mark Twain's story-telling found in his novels, still entertain us today. Loved Loved Loved listening to Garrison Keillor and Lake Wobegon |
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