Hawthorn Hill Journal by Richard deRosa

Who Is that Masked Man?

As a kid, I loved listening to radio shows. We now live in a predominantly visual world, which does in its own way excite the imagination, but for me nothing compares to the imaginative spark that is ignited when envisioning the action in one’s own mind. My favorite show was “The Lone Ranger.”

That great line ending each episode reverberates in my mind to this day: Who is that masked man? Well, it was a man, along with his sidekick, Tonto, whose sole purpose was to battle evil. His mask, that only covered his eyes, symbolized good. When evil arose, he appeared with Tonto to take the bad guys down. Good always triumphed over evil. The Lone Ranger galloped off with great fanfare, crying “Hi-ho, Silver!” as he most surely once again would battle evil and prove once again that truth and goodness reign supreme. At least they seemed to have a fighting chance, both in that fictional world and the one I grew up in. Many years ago my wife, Sandy, gave me a collection of Lone Ranger radio tapes. What a great present. I listened to them many times on a portable cassette player while driving to work. Got me pumped up for day in the classroom. Unfortunately, when we moved to Cooperstown from Cherry Valley, the box containing the tapes never made it. Conspiracy theories abound. My delight at receiving that present is matched only by two other wonderful gifts: the 12-volume OED and the complete works of John Burroughs. An 81-year-old man now, I still feel a ripple of excitement course through my body when I replay those words in mind.