Tony took me to see "Billy Jack" on a June evening in 1973, which was the same night as my senior prom. Now, I had never planned on attending my senior prom. Really. It wasn't an event that any of my close friends even talked about. There was no girlfriend on the horizon. I had no money, no car and no license to drive one at the time. Still, I remember how at the last minute I started to notice a flurry of the dateless guys lining up cousins and such. I found that at the 12th hour I started to feel a slight pang of regret that I might be missing something important. It was a rite of passage after all. Even Greg Brady had a date. That afternoon, Tony decided to invite me to hang with him at the movies for the 2nd time in our lives. Now, I’ve never asked him whether or not it was a coincidence, or if he was actually making a big brother move to divert my mind from thoughts of what my classmates at Millikan were doing that night. It did divert me though, and introduced me to a cult classic film and hero who wore a really cool hat. NOTE ON THAT HAT: Jim (James) took to wearing his own miniature version of the hat. He was about 3 at the time. I can still see him walking in the front door of Mom’s house with that Billy Jack hat on his head and his stone-serious face. He would then proceed to kick and karate chop me until I fell to the floor and surrendered. One tin soldier rides away. - Tom
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