After Watching Part One

Lonesome Dove is an epic-length film, and thus allows ample time for the plot, characters, and themes to unfold. As a result, I’ll discuss things more as the film goes on, which allows you more time to view the men and their lives.
There are, however, a few nuggets of wisdom that reveal themselves right away.

Leadership Styles- Very early on, we see that The Hat Creek Cattle Company has two leaders: Captain Call and Gus. This is interesting, because the men are very different, but they both command respect. Captain Call is tough, quiet, and forceful…while Gus is likes to laugh and joke and tease everyone around him.

How can this be? How can two men who are almost exact opposites both be respected leaders?

Well, leadership is a strange thing, because there are several types of effective leadership. And to make leadership even more confusing, different people respond to different types of leadership. Some people perform best when the leader is pushing them, demanding more and more and more. Some people perform best when the leader praises them, complimenting them on their work and cheerleading them to do more.

There is, however, one aspect of leadership that surpasses all others…one thing that will make you a leader without even trying…and that one thing is earned respect. Leaders are often in leadership positions because they are the loudest, or the biggest, or the luckiest…but nothing takes the place of being a leader who is in that position because they have earned the team’s respect through hard work, persistence, and accomplishment.

In watching Lonesome Dove, you have the opportunity to watch two seasoned leaders practicing very different leadership styles…and clearly these men have done things in their past to earn (and maintain) the respect of everyone in the group. But ask yourself this: How would the Hat Creek Cattle Company do with only one of these leaders? Would they enjoy their lives if they had only Captain Call? Would they get anything done if they had only Gus? Often times, a leader must play the role of both Gus and Call, in order to keep the team moving ahead towards a common goal.

Some men are natural-born leaders, and if you are one of them you are blessed. But never doubt that the fundamentals of leadership can be learned…so never pass up the opportunity to read about leadership, or take courses that offer additional training. One day you will be a leader in a difficult situation, and leadership training might be the thing that brings you through it.

Gus and the Good Book- After spending the night playing cards in the saloon, Gus returns home to cook his biscuits and spend some time reading the Bible. Why do you suppose this detail is included?

It’s because this detail tells us volumes about Augustus McCray, and what he sees as truly important. Yes, he’s a tough, former Texas Ranger…yes, he plays cards and drinks whiskey and chases after women. And yes, he loves to tease his friends, and make fun of their every thought…but Gus taking time to read the Bible shows us that you don’t have to be a “goodie-goodie” to have respect for God. Bare that in mind as you walk through this life… there is someone up there watching you, and one day you’ll have to have a chat with him about many of the decisions you made along the way.

The Value of Moderation- During Part I, we see two very different uses of alcohol: We see Gus, who sips on his whiskey jug in a relaxed and controlled way, and we see Dish Boggett, who drinks a whole bottle of whiskey and comes staggering back to the ranch drunk.

Does Dish look cool to you? Does he look handsome, or strong, or anything but stupid? Would you think he would look cool getting behind the wheel of a car? Does he look like someone women would find attractive? There is a great deal of pressure and temptation for young men to drink too much alcohol, and being drunk is often treated as something cool…but I ask again, does Dish look cool to you? There is absolutely nothing wrong with drinking alcohol, but how much you drink can only be monitored by you. Do you want to be the Dish Boggett in the crowd? Or do you want to be the Gus McCray? One is falling down making a fool of himself, and the other is in control and cool.

You will be faced with this situation hundreds of times in your life, and only you can decide how you want to proceed.

Pea Eye and Josh Deets- There are two members of the Hat Creek Cattle company that you will want to keep an eye on during this film: Pea Eye and Josh Deets.

Pea Eye is a man with very little going for him, it seems. He is fairly unattractive, he is not strong, he is not smart or funny, and he doesn’t have any great talents that serve Gus and Call in some extraordinary way. And yet, both Gus and Call like him, and clearly consider him their friend. Why is this?

It’s because Gus and Call know that Pea Eye is a good man with a big heart. A good man doesn’t need to be handsome or strong or smart… he needs only to be loyal to his friends, and unafraid to help them when the need arises. Pea Eye is, as you will see, someone you can count on when the going gets tough. He doesn’t ask for attention or praise… he doesn’t add much to conversations… he doesn’t demonstrate any leadership qualities.

But you will understand one day, my Nephews, that a friend like Pea Eye is a very precious thing. And it is my hope that as you grow older, you’ll keep an eye out for men like Pea Eye, and befriend them if the opportunity arises. When you reach out to a good man like Pea Eye and offer him your friendship, he’ll spend the rest of his life paying you back for that gesture.

Josh Deets is also a good man with a big heart, and we learn a great deal from his relationship with Call and Gus. You see, in the days following the Civil War, black men were rarely treated with respect by white men, largely because white men thought they were better than blacks. This is not true, of course, but that was the way they thought back then.

As you can see, however, Gus and Call treat Deets with great respect. Like Pea Eye, they know Deets is a friend they can count on, and they are wise enough to know a true friend is more valuable than all the money in the world. When other white men were looking down on black men, Gus and Call reached out to Deets and offered their friendship… and as you will see, there is nothing Deets won’t do for them.

In closing out these thoughts on Pea Eye and Deets, let me say only this: Never judge a man by the way he speaks or looks, or by the clothes he wears, the car he drives, or the money he has. Judge a man by his actions. Anyone can look good or sound good or make a lot of money…it’s what a man does that makes him a man.

Dreams Versus Action- As soon as Captain Call decides he wants to take a herd of cattle to Montana, he puts his wheels into motion. He discusses it with his friend Gus…makes his decision…and away they go. He simply envisions a new adventure, realizes it is where his heart is leading him, and takes action on his dream.

The idea of “taking action on your dreams” is an extremely important part of Lonesome Dove…and although the concept may not make a great deal of sense to you right now, I’m going to explain it anyway. It is a concept that will make sense to you in the years ahead.

As a young man, taking action on your dreams is a natural part of your life. In fact, most of your energy goes into doing just that. You have a dream of making the basketball team, so you practice, practice, practice. You have a dream of making straight A’s, so you work hard in your studies. You have a dream of being a black belt in karate, so you give it all your energy. These are all worthy dreams, and because you have parents who take care of your essential needs, you are able to focus on making these dreams come true.

Someday, you will be in college, and your dreams will transform into more adult-level dreams… you may dream of being a doctor, so you really have to hit the books. You may have dreams of being a Marine Officer, in which case you’ll join the Naval ROTC program, and commit a great deal of time to physical fitness. Or you may dream of being an actor, an engineer, or a CPA, in which case you’ll need to follow the curriculum that will lead to that degree. These are all worthy dreams, and the world expects you to be a dreamer as a college-aged man. What else would you be at this age?

The day you graduate from college is the day the world wants you to stop dreaming. The world says to you, “It’s time to shape up, and get to work.” These days, lots of young folks refuse to listen to that demand, and instead take some time off to live in a fun place and work a job just to get by: Some move to the West and work in a ski resort…some move to New York City to experience life there…some just travel around, working odd jobs in order to see the country. I personally think this is wonderful, as it is just plain-old fun.

However… there will come a time- be it after college, or Med School, or a few years in a ski town- when the world’s pressures will get to you, and you will feel inside yourself, “Okay, enough fun and dreaming…it’s time to get to work. Time to start living a real life. Time to find a wife…time to buy a house and furniture…time to become an average tax-paying citizen (or, perhaps time to earn my fortune).”

Now listen to me carefully here… There is nothing wrong with these things- wife, children, home- they can be the very best things in life…but you need to understand what’s about to happen. Society will tell you, “Young man, you are an adult now. You need to buy a home, fill it to the ceiling with furniture, get a nice car, get a few credit cards, treat yourself to a boat and some other toys… and THAT will make you a man.”

And the truth is that having these things does feel good. But… you have just exchanged your ability to act on your dreams for a mortgage, car/boat payments, insurance, taxes, and credit card payments. You now owe so many people so much money that you can no longer “gather a herd of cattle and strike out for Montana.”

Now, please understand that not everyone wants to maintain the ability to gather a herd and head to Montana…in fact, most people don’t. But if you think you might be one of these life-long dreamers, you need to be very, very, very selective about who you ask to be your wife.

Why? Because almost everyone thinks it’s normal to be up to their eyeballs in debt, and debt is the great dream crusher. And if you want to stay out of debt, you will need a wife who thinks exactly like you on that matter. Love alone cannot overcome this issue. (That statement will sound absurd the first time you fall in love, because you will think love can conquer anything, but believe me it can’t.) If you marry a woman who wants lots of material possessions, her desire for those things will overwhelm your desire to stay out of debt. And before long, you will be working everyday just to pay the bills.

Now, if I were you, I’d be asking what the happy medium is. How do you live in this world and enjoy yourself, but avoid the traps of debt… and find a loving woman who thinks the way you do?

The answer, if you choose to follow it, is back a few pages: Simplicity.

You stake your ground in life as a simple man of simple tastes… then always be yourself. If you drive a used truck in order to avoid debt, then only a woman unimpressed with fancy cars will show interest in you. If you wear blue jeans and a khaki shirt as you standard attire, then only a woman unimpressed by fancy clothes will show interest in you.

If you live in an inexpensive apartment (or buy an inexpensive house) and fill it with simple furniture, then no woman who insists on a big house and fancy furniture will show interest in you. Simply by being yourself, and refusing to act like someone you’re not in order to impress others, you are avoiding serious relationships with women who aren’t attracted to the real you.

And what do you do with the money you earn? All the money that you have available because you’re not sending it to the credit card company or paying the bank every month? Well, after you give 10% a month to the church or a charity, you do what Gus and Captain Call did: You save it.

Why?

So it’s there, built up and available for when you decide it’s time to drive a herd of cattle to Montana.

Now, take a break from reading and consider the ideas I’ve discussed…maybe jot down your own thoughts. And when you’re ready, watch Part Two.