While working at Mel's Molehole in Branson during the summer of 1992, I met many people from all over the US.  Three of them were Rex and Edith Moyer and Edith's sister, Margaret.  I told them that I was going to be coming to Arizona that winter.  Rex gave me their phone number and said, "You call us when you get out there."    I called the Moyers and told them were I would be playing.  That Saturday night they were there. We talked and the subject to to Ben Johnson.  Margaret said, "I live next door to Ben."  I told her I would like to get an autographed picture of Ben.  She said, "That's no problem, I'll get you one."

Every year before I left to go back to Minnesota, Branson or South Dakota we would all get together for  lunch.  The year was 1995.  We were having lunch when Margaret said,  "We are invited over to Ben Johnson's after we are through eating."  I said, "Your kidding,"  "No, " She replied, " I told Ben about you and told him you would like to have a picture.  He told me that he wanted to meet you and we were supposed to stop over after we got through having lunch."  I couldn't believe it.   A famous actor, cowboy, oscar and Golden Globe winner, the star of movies I had watched since I was a kid, asked to meet me.  

We left the resturarnt and went back to Leisure World and pulled up infront of Margaret's and walked over the Ben's two housed over and rang the door bell.  Low and behold, Ben Johnson appeared at the door, "Come on in."  he said.
We went in to the beautiful home.  Ben and his nephew had been sitting in the kitchen , Ben was autographing pictures and his nephew was putting them in envelopes and addressing them.  Ben said, "This picture are being sent out all over the world.  People write and ask for them and I send them one."  Come on in to the den he said,"   

We walked into the Den, a huge room about  24 X 48.  The walls were covered with pictures of movies stars and from movies that he had been in.   At the  far end of the room was a large entertainment center with his TV.  Atop the unit stood the Oscar that Ben got for "The Last Picture Show.  It stood next to his Golden Globe.
We talked for nearly half an hour, I said, "Well, Mr. Johnson you probably have other things to do beside sit here and talk to us."  He said, "Relax, I don't get to do this very often."   Rex and Ben had a lot in common, they were both "Okies."  
He showed us many momentos and told us were he got them.  Then he walked over to a large closet and opened it up.  "Look it here."  The closet was full of WRANGLER shirts.  he said, "They give me all these for free, they used me in their ads."  Rex was about Ben's size, he reached in and gave him some shirts.  If I had been about two sizes smaller, I would have had a great momento to keep also.  We thanked Ben for his time and went to leave.  He said, "Wait a minute."  walked over and picked up  some pictures and handed them to us.    

It was about a  year later when the world received the bad news the Ben Johnson had died while at his mother's in  her Leisure World home.  Ben was truely an actor's actor and a cowboy's cowboy.   Meeting Ben was a day I will never forget.  I though how lucky I was to have had the opportunity to meet a real American Legion.