August 12, 2006
Chasing our dreams is not unlike the old TV show of the 60’s, Stoney Burke.
For those of you too young to remember, its hero Stoney Burke (played by Jack Lord) was after one thing—the Golden Buckle, the crown of world champion saddle bronc riders.
On October first in 1962, the television show Stoney Burke debuted in black and white on Monday nights at 9 p.m. on ABC.
I was there along with sister Pat and friends Priscilla and Sue. So star-struck were we that soon we formed the Stoney Burke Fan Club. We began to wear tight blue jeans, crisp white shirts, and jeans jackets just like Stoney. I am guessing we even had cowboy hats and boots, but I don’t remember that part much.
What I remember is this. Our adoration was not for the television star Jack Lord, no it was for the mythical character of Stoney Burke. Although at the time, we did not think he was imaginary; well, at least, I didn’t.
To be fair to Pat, Priscilla and Sue, I must admit that I was just a tad more over the top on this than they were. As president of the Stoney Burke Fan Club, it was my responsibility to spread the word and sign up more members.
The task proved formidable as I began to realize that not everyone in the world was in love with Stoney Burke.
Sadly for our fan club, and apparently for a minute amount of other fans, the 60-minute western drama was short-lived, lasting only until May 20, 1963.
Before the fad died, however, our Stoney Burke Fan Club made a trip to a rodeo where Stoney Burke (Jack Lord) was billed as the featured attraction.
Stoney was to ride a horse into the arena at the storied Sidney Iowa Rodeo and greet his fans.
After pushing past small kids and older folks, this crazed teenager fought her way to the rail where she could actually touch the hand of Stoney Burke as he rode by on his magnificent steed.
Ok. In my sister’s version of this event, she says I knocked a few people down getting there, but don’t believe her.
Keep in mind that I did not think for one minute that I was touching the hand of Jack Lord.
To me, the bronc rider who touched my hand that night was the one and only Stoney Burke.
Stoney never lost sight of his goal, the Golden Buckle, despite numerous villains who set out to stop him, a few girls who distracted him, and thugs who challenged him to old-fashioned western brawls.
In the end, life dealt Stoney a blow that ended his dream. Stoney hit bottom in the last episode when he injured his hand and could no longer earn money to send his aging parents. He had to quit the rodeo circuit, apparently defeated.
Stoney took a job delivering horses to a slaughter factory where one of the horses turned out to be Megaton, the fierce bucking bronc that Stoney admired but could never master. Realizing that his life was no different than the doomed Megaton’s, Stoney rediscovered himself and set out in a completely different direction. Eventually, he would find his own Golden Buckle--fulfilling and purposeful work.
Decades later, as I ponder Stoney Burke, I realize that many of us are searching for our own Golden Buckle.
Often, we never find it, at least in its original form.
At this point in life, Baby Boomers know well that life deals us cards we don’t want and presents detours that slow our progress; yet, undeterred we somehow push forward.
Jack Lord did the same when his personal Golden Buckle dream died.
Defeated and embarrassed by his Stoney Burke debacle and the failure of his TV show, Jack sought to redefine himself.
In 1968, he starred in a new show, Hawaii Five-O, an instant hit that is still in rerun.
Playing the part of Steve McGarrett, fierce investigator in a tough special police unit in Hawaii, Jack Lord found his fame.
Sooner or later, all the bad guys on Hawaii Five-O, heard Steve McGarrett bark to his sidekick, “Book ‘em Danno.” Those famous words remain today as a part of our American speech and as Jack Lord’s legacy, his own Golden Buckle.
As a side note, after years of assuming that Stoney Burke was lost to me forever, I recently found him on the web. There I can watch a video of his old episodes, see Megaton buck him off, and view that prized Golden Buckle.
The Stoney Burke Fan Club might be back in business!
