By Linda Elissalde
The masked Lone Ranger’s adventures started on radio in 1933. He and his faithful companion Tonto set out to bring justice to the Old American West. These stories turned into movie serials. I remember watching them on Saturdays at the Gay Lynn Theater in Beaumont, Texas. Each chapter ended with The Lone Ranger and Tonto in a precarious spot. I could not wait until the next week to grab my Coke, bag of popcorn and chocolate covered almonds to see how they escaped. Then the twosome and their talented horses, Silver and Scout, became a popular TV series. Each episode ended with the Lone Ranger and Tonto riding away as some asked, “Who is that masked man?”
There are a lot of masked folk around these days although the mask are not like the Long Ranger’s covering. Who are these masked people? They are of all genders and ages. And, like the famous ranger, they are helping to make this a better place by fighting the injustices of COVD-19. Since Coronavirus seems to be settling in our country, we are fighting it with all the resources that we can. Scientists, Medical workers, and government are working hard to fine the cure. We are masking up to help stop the spread of this evil. We don’t have any symbolic silver bullets, but we do have social distancing.
George W. Trendle and Fran Striker created the story of The Lone Ranger. They wrote a creed for him to follow. A part of it read, “Everyone has the power, the right within themselves, to help make this a greater world”. If this was good enough for our masked crusader, it should be good enough for the rest of us.
HI, YO, SILVER!
P.S. Kudos to Ellen Kennedy, Elaine Rollfing and Dr. Melanie Wallace for creating face masks. They are giving them away to help others be safe.
[April-20-2020]
Posted in 
Dear Janice,
Thank you for pointing that out. I did discover the fact in my research about The Lone Ranger. When the shows were presented in Spanish, Tonto was renamed Toro meaning bull. I think that is much better.
I appreciate your response.
Linda C. Elissalde
Did you know that Tonto is Spanish for fool? Today, it would probably be politically incorrect for his sidekick to have that name.