‘The Rifleman” 1959

A rancher and his son were shocked after seeing the infected and open shoulder wound of a battered Confederate veteran.  The son ran away from the sight but the rancher quickly caught up with him and said, “Sorry son, but sooner or later you had to find out . . .”

Son, “Why did I? I didn’t want to . . . Pa, his shoulder wasn’t healed!”

Pa, “Not only poor Blanden’s shoulder, but I mean all the ugly, useless suffering in the world. In time you’ll learn to accept it and bring it into balance with the good things.”

Son, “I’ll never be able to Pa!”

Pa, “You will son, because you have to. It’s the price you pay on staying alive and in your right senses, it’s manhood. And I can promise that when you come to the far end of it, you’ll raise your old hands to bless this wonderful life you’ve been given, taken all together with the roast beef, and the moon rises, and a boy and his father riding out in the morning, after you’re grown up to be a father yourself.”

from the TV series, “The Rifleman”

Watch the full episode:
The Rifleman “The Sheridan Story”