{"id":12016,"date":"2008-07-01T20:56:38","date_gmt":"2008-07-02T00:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12016"},"modified":"2026-07-29T13:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T17:36:08","slug":"the-man-by-pbeaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12016","title":{"rendered":"The Man (by pbeaking)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/strong>:\u00a0 <\/span>As we come upon the 17th anniversary of Michael Landon\u2019s passing July 1st, 1991, I\u2019ve been trying to think of a way to celebrate what he has left for us all. This is a different sort of story because it is written in rhyme. I find I can express myself easier that way. These ditties, as I so call them, happen to be a hobby of mine. I hope you will enjoy my tribute to Michael, for I feel he has left his mark on the world in many ways. Posted originally on Bonanza World<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 K\u00a0 (1,060 words)<\/p>\n

The Man<\/strong><\/p>\n

Little Joe Cartwright sat at his desk, pen in his left hand
\nFrustrated, he thought, \u201cWhat can I say… It must be good… it must be grand\u201d
\nHe paused once more before he began
\nThen he wrote a letter to THE man<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Mr. Landon, at first I was just a character name written simply on a page
\nYou made me a woman charmer and a young man quick to rage
\nYou gave me an infectious laugh that made others follow suit
\nYou taught me to show kindness and compassion, AND I must say I enjoyed how all the ladies deemed me cute
\nYou filled me with energy, and gave me confidence to conquer all
\nDemonstrating how a quick wit could win any brawl
\nYou allowed me to fail, so that I could then succeed
\nYou brought tears to my eyes to show pain and how my heart would bleed
\nYou devotedly wore the green jacket along with the Stetson hat
\nAnd you taught me to board Cochise without using the stirrup… just like that
\nYou made me mischievous and daring
\nBut also loving and caring
\nThe fourteen years we were together made me who I am today
\nA western icon from the 60\u2019s that will never just go away\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Little Joe heaved a sigh and signed his letter as such<\/p>\n

\u201cBest wishes to you always, Joe Cartwright. You gave the Ponderosa the right touch\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Charles Ingalls sat under a big oak tree
\nLooking out at the vast prairie
\nHe too, was having problems finding the right words to say
\nTears welled in his eyes as his emotions gave way
\nHe heaved a huge sigh and with pencil in hand
\nHe thoughtfully wrote a letter to THE man<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Mr. Landon, I was more than just a character on a page
\nFor I was a true historical person that lived at another time, another age
\nYou used what was known about me when I was alive
\nAnd built up my character with anything you could contrive
\nYou kept me clean shaven, but I still played the fiddle loud and strong
\nAnd you knew just what to say when my children had done wrong
\nYou made me a caring man one that the community looked up to
\nFor you always knew the right answers when others didn\u2019t have a clue
\nYou saw the goodness in people and taught me to leave prejudice behind
\nStressing the importance of family and the goodness of mankind
\nYou allowed me to struggle and feel what it was like to be faced with hard times
\nTo work together as a family and count all the dimes<\/em><\/p>\n

You made me experience humility and heartache
\nAnd taught me to learn from every mistake
\nAt times you were sentimental and a tear rolled down my cheek
\nOther times you were angry at injustice and then fairness you\u2019d have me seek
\nYou taught me family values and the importance of treating one another with respect
\nOur 10 years together I will always look back on and fondly reflect
\nYou taught me that life is not always a bed of roses, that\u2019s true
\nBut I\u2019m a remembered pioneer icon because of you\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Charles Ingalls looked out to see his children running through the tall grass
\nHe paused for a moment hoping this image would never fade, never pass
\nWith a smile on his face he signed his letter nice and clear<\/p>\n

\u201cBest Wishes My Friend, Charles Ingalls … for it is you I will always revere.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Jonathon Smith sat quietly on a park bench
\nHis next assignment made his gut wrench
\nHe was asked to look deep beneath his skin
\nAnd write a letter to THE man within<\/p>\n

He looked up to the sky
\nOn this sunny first day of July
\nHe thought for a while and laid out a plan
\nThen picked up a pen and wrote to THE man<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Mr. Landon, you showed me how to make the world a better place
\nHow to get along with others regardless of differences, beliefs, or race
\nYou opened my eyes to the problems going on in the world
\nAnd showed me the effects of \u201ckindness towards others\u201d… when it is unfurled
\nYou healed broken families before their loved ones had to depart
\nBut most of all you taught me how to speak directly from the heart
\nYou once said that we often live life by reliving life, \u2018tis true
\nI learned to look towards the future and not dwell on the past because of you
\nOur 5 years together went by way too fast
\nBut the lessons learned will forever last\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Just then a bird soared high into the air
\nJonathon looked skyward squinting into the sun\u2019s blare
\nHe smiled broadly and nodded his head
\nPutting a closing on his letter he then finally said<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for all that you have given me,
\nFondly, Jonathan Smith… I mean every word sincerely\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The characters have spoken and now it\u2019s time for the author to add a brief note
\nFor we must acknowledge all that THE man directed and all that THE man wrote
\nHis true passion was not acting… or writing… but directing, \u2018tis true
\nHe was a leader that could get people to try something they never thought they could do<\/p>\n

He had a take charge attitude and he knew how to get things done
\nWhile always finding time to take a break and have some fun
\nHe stuck to the family oriented tv shows
\nEven when the head honchos seemed to oppose
\nHe knew what people wanted and delivered it with ease
\nNever wavering from what he thought was right just to appease
\nMy only regret is that I never met THE man
\nBut I remain wholeheartedly an endearing fan<\/p>\n

Thank you Michael!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 As we come upon the 17th anniversary of Michael Landon\u2019s passing July 1st, 1991, I\u2019ve been trying to think of a way to celebrate what he has left for us all. This is a different sort of story because it is written in rhyme. I find I can express myself easier that way. These ditties, as I so call them, happen to be a hobby of mine. I hope you will enjoy my tribute to Michael, for I feel he has left his mark on the world in many ways. Posted originally on Bonanza World<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 K\u00a0 (1,060 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":11514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[23,1007],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-joe-cartwright","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1007-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Joe-copy-7.jpg?fit=594%2C592&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}