Once upon a time, there was a cowboy. His name was Cactus Joe.

     The Christmas parade of 1967, in my hometown in Virginia, was way cool. There will never be another parade like that one, not in my opinion. That year “Cactus Joe” (Joe Grant) was in our parade. As children and teens, on Saturday morning, we gathered at the TV to watch Cactus Joe’s cartoons. WSLS, Channel 10 in Roanoke, Virginia provided us this pleasure.

     Cactus came to town early on the evening of the parade. He was spotted in a few local stores. It was a couple of hours before the parade started, and quite a crowd had gathered at Royer’s Restaurant.
     Royer’s was right in the heart of town, the perfect place to be when the parade started, a real ring side view. We teenagers were sitting in the booths, looking out the big glass windows. To our surprise, a real life cowboy strutted in front of the big window. He had Sweetie, his cowgirl, with him.
     We all screamed. “There’s Cactus Joe! Look at him!”
     He opened the front door, and waltzed into the restaurant. Heads turned, and everybody went into some sort of trance. Cactus Joe strutted around like he owned the place.
     By Jim-i-dy Crickets—he did. He held the crowd in the palm of his hand.
     The next thing I knew, people grabbed his hand to shake it, and tapped him lightly on his shoulder. It was no doubt about it, Cactus was number one.
     Ole Cactus leaned back, and rested his elbows on the bar, just the way a real cowboy would do. The crowd was awestruck. This was really happening. It was not a dream.
     Back in the 1930’s, my parents saw Gene Autry and "Frog" at the local town theater. And then there was the time back in the late 1800’s, when Buffalo Bill Cody came to town, and spent the night. 
     Now, before us stood Cactus Joe.
     What could we do to get his attention? We had to get our hero to look at us, somehow, someway. “We’re wasting time talking about it,” Nikki said. “Hey Cactus!”
     We held our breath, afraid the cowboy wouldn’t speak. After all, he had so many fans gathered around him. To our surprise, he turned his head, and looked straight at Nikki.
     “Hey now!” he said, and waved his hand. Goosebumps exploded on our arms. We felt like little kids again. Oh, thank you, Cactus.
     Cactus left soon after that to get ready for the parade. I left to take my place in the parade, still searching for one more glance of my hero. I spotted him, way ahead near the front.
     Me and two other girls had the pleasure of riding on the back of a convertible, and waving at everybody. We represented our high school sorority, The Alpha Chi Omega.
     And there’s never been a parade quite like that one in my hometown. That was the icing on the cake for me. Sweet Cactus Joe, loved by all children, has passed from this earth into his eternal glory. But, Cactus Joe, the man, and our hero, will live on forever in our hearts.