Yes, Den, I am a romantic. I always was. I think that women usually have their feet much more firmly planted in reality, and I like and respect them for it. I think that the men who go haring off into the wilds like Gus and Call and engaging in the male bonding escapades that Peter alludes to are fools.

However, if it makes them happy, then who am I to say that they shouldn't do it? ;-) (and it gives us great adventure stories too) I think, frankly, that they're just afraid of taking on real responsibility...and I can understand why they would be. It's a very scary business settling down to the domestic responsibilities of attending to a wife, a family, a home, and all that goes with it...and it lasts your whole life.

Now, taking on a bunch of Indians or bandits is scary too...but it doesn't usually last too long at all, and you can convince yourself that you're earning your rugged male laurels while you do it, and you can boast to your buddies about your heroics afterward...if you survive.

And if you don't? Well, the dead feel no pain, right?

Yup. I can understand where all that male bonding crap comes from. It's just avoidance of far more challenging and longlasting situations, that's all. It's an attempt to remain in childhood. Gus and Call were boys who never grew up, even if they were very good at killing people.

Call never could have grown up. He was emotionally incapable of it. Now, Gus...he could have. He had the emotional depth and the imagination to be able to grow up any time he decided to. That's why I find Gus's fate particularly tragic. His run of bad luck was bound to come some time.

He frittered his time away on trivialities until his clock ran out. There are a great many men who do that.

I'll say this, though. Gus was a hell of a likeable guy. Anyone would enjoy having him around.