For the last twenty years of his life, John Wayne often had a profound effect on people that crossed his path. Meeting him in person for some was like meeting Abraham Lincoln or George Washington. Yet the Duke usually stayed humble and almost always kept his sense of humor.

One time he was out with a group of friends who all were all eating and drinking heavily. The Duke excused himself to go to the men's room and when he came back his pants leg was wet. "Hey Duke what happened?" one of them asked.

"Nothing. Happens all the time. I'm used to it.

"What happens?"

The Duke looked annoyed. "All right, if you must know I'm standing in the men's room and there's some yahoo standing next to me and he says' Oh my god you're John Wayne and he turns. . ."

Notice to webmasters and publishers:

You have permission to publish these articles free of charge, as long as the last line and link (if published online) are included.

A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

All articles and stories copyright ©2010 by Stephen Schochet.

All rights reserved.