by Lewis J Rhodes

Created on: March 19, 2010

Memories from childhood are always carried forward. Sometimes they disappear under a cloud of stress induced day to day living, but they remain, hidden deep and silent.

Fess Parker is one of those memories. Regrettably, it took his passing for the memory to be recalled and be enhanced by the experiences of a young boy watching wonders of Davy Crockett. The movie, by to-days standards would probably have limited appeal, but for those of us who experienced and lived the world of 'a Davy Crockett', no better accolade could be bestowed on the acting abilities of Fess Parker. For the young impressionable mind, he was Day Crockett, and, more than this, he took the character, the personality, and indeed the history and pasted it eternaly into our young minds.

From what I am saying, the reader might be tricked into believing these words come from some wooded hillside in the land of America. Reality is very different however, and I write from memories created in the African Bush veld, and Savanna. Even in those heady days of gentle eyed Impala, and roaming Buffalo, a rare trip to the cinema, or 'flicks' as they were called, saw the imaginative youth embark on Davy Crockett adventures. We were not able to wear coonskin caps, but the odd cured kaross served just as well, with anxious and excited hands cutting and sewing furiously so that our wilderness games could begin.

We never experienced the seasons, and there were no bears. Our Indians came from deciding who would play whom, and the muzzle loader was carved from a piece of Mopani wood, often conveniently found after a severe drought.

It was to Davy Crockett we would aspire. To us, he was the ideal adventurer, woodsman, and indeed role mode. He was fair to all, and justice had to prevail! What we were seeing of course, was the film maker's idea of what should prevail. It was however, that strong faced giant of a man (to us small guys) who guided our day to day thoughts through a stage in our lives which had not yet been infected by television.

Fess Parker created an imaginative world in our minds. He was that link between reality and imagination. He was the very essence of what youth had the good fortune to experience.

His recent death, is a loss to many of us African spirits. He was for a us a man who gave us what we were looking for. Davy Crockett was part of a belief system, that disappeared with the advent of television, computer games, and sex before youth has been given time to enjoy themselves.

Thank you Fess Parker.

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