Lone Ranger taught lessons

As "The Lone Ranger" in 169 half-hour episodes during the 1950s, Moore rode into our homes as the masked man who never shot to kill, who taught tolerance through his partnership with Tonto (played by Jay Silverheels), who spread lessons to children about justice and who respected religion, as shown in his friendship with missionaries.

When some of those episodes were rerun recently on cable, I found them as alluring as I did when I was 10.

Silver

And Moore fooled me every time he doffed his mask and donned a disguise to spy on the bad guys. His bow-legged, bewhiskered prospector with the squint eye was my favorite.

Thanks to comedians like Bill Cosby and politically correct thinking, it has been popular to scorn "The Lone Ranger" as demeaning of Indians. After all, goes that thinking, Tonto was the servant of the white man, sent to do the dirty work while the Ranger remained in camp.

But watch the episodes that describe how the masked man came to be. Tonto is the genius behind it all: He saves a dying Texas Ranger, makes his mask from his dead brother's vest and even names his horse. I learned from watching this cowboy series that people of different colors can work together to benefit all: white sheriffs, Native American scouts and Mexican settlers.

Cowboy heroes

Along with Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, the Lone Ranger taught millions of kids about responsibility, patriotism, family and even forgiveness.

The stories they told were morality plays in which goodness prevailed and evil failed. Contrast that with some of the messages sent to children by today's TV shows.

Life-long interest

When I became a father in the '70s, I read Lone Ranger books to my sons as they settled into bed at night. And this Christmas, the coworker who drew my name in the gift exchange presented me with a lunch box adorned with Clayton Moore's image, a measure of how often I have talked about "Lone," as my sister and I nicknamed him.

Over the years of writing this column, I thought often about arranging a phone interview with Moore. I never did. I think I know why: It would have crossed a distance between us that shouldn't be crossed. He would have been un-masked.

Moore died at 85, so his passing is sad but not a tragedy. What is a tragedy is that westerns like "The Lone Ranger" have disappeared over the hill, taking with them some things I wish we had kept.

(01-13-00)