Will Rogers was first an indian, then a cowboy and then a national figure. He is now a legend. Today would have been one hundred and twenty seven years old. He died in that infamous plane crash in 1935. Will was taught roping by a freed slave and as he grew older, his roping skills developed so amazingly that he was listed in the Guinness Book of records for throwing three lassos at once! One rope caught the running horse's neck, the other would hoop around the rider and the third swooped up under the horse to loop all four legs. Quite a feat! But it was this man's amazing wit that endeared him to the American public. Some of his saying are as funny today as they were in the 1920's and 30's. My personal favorites are "Diplomacy is the art of saying "Nice doggie" until you can find a rock" and "Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for!" "Even if you're on the right track, you're gonna get run over if you just sit there and do nothing!" "Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your talk like hell parrot to the town gossip" Quickly, his wise cracks and folksy observations become more prized by audiences than his expert roping. He became recognized as a being a very informed and smart philosopher--telling the truth in very simple words so that everyone everywhere could easily understand him. When he said "Take the diplomacy out of war and the thing would fall flat in a week" or "The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has"-- you'd laugh and you'd remember! During his lifetime he traveled around the globe three times-- meeting people, talking about peace and learning everything possible! He wrote six book and published more than two million words. He was kind and generous man who spent thousands of dollars helping others and his charitable foundations exist to this very day. I will end this with a quote that is pretty much on the mark just as it stands: "If you live life right, death is a joke as far as fear is concerned." By the way today is the 90th birthday of another American legend-- Walter Cronkite. Happy Birthday, Walter!