"I won't tolerate rudeness from a man."--W.F. Call

I couldn't even come close to naming all the books I have read throughout my life...from silly kid's books to truly epic works, I'll read anything once. I fall in love with books easily, with their tone, with their setting, and especially with their characters. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry is a book I go back to time and time again, even though it's extremely long and I'm not a big fan of Westerns. I go back to re-read it because I absolutely adore Captain Woodrow F. Call.

Most people who have read the book or seen the movie are huge fans of Gus, and with good reason...he's a jovial, sassy old man with a generous heart and a quick temper. It's hard not to like Gus, and while I do think he's great, I've always been more drawn to the quiet, fiesty Call. Call's not as easy to figure out...he's an enigma, even to the people who have known him for decades. He's bad at expressing any emotion other than impatience and fury, goes through life raising his son without acknowledging their relation, and is hard-headed to a fault. But he's a man of extreme loyalty and honor, a man of character. Whenever I hear the phrase 'character is what you do when nobody is around', I think of Call. He's not a man who does the wrong thing because it's easier. He's not a man who betrays his word. He is the epitome of the word right.

One of my favorite parts of the book is after Gus dies, and Call is preparing to take his body all the way back to Texas even though they had just arrived in Montana after a long, grueling trip. People thought he was crazy, even asking him why he would go so far out of his way to keep a promise he made to a dead man. To Call, though, there was nothing else to do. Gus was his best friend, and he gave him his word, and to him, that was all there was to it.

I also can read another part over and over: when Call absolutely loses his temper and beats a man half to death in the street. I realize that sounds a little morbid, but he had a good reason. The Army scout he went after had already hurt two of his men, and turned a horse whip on Call's son. The scout was a rude, arrogant man, and Call completely flipped out on him, beating him to a bloody pulp in front of an entire town. When he came to his senses, he looked at everyone and said, "I won't tolerate rudeness from a man," then just got on his horse and rode off.

For Call, there was right and there was wrong, and there was no gray area in between. His friendship with Gus, who would spend days lazing around, drinking whiskey, made him all the more striking to me. They were complete opposites, and yet they spent decades of their lives together, and loved each other deeply. Gus's personality emphasized Call's, and made me love him all the more.