Friday, January 30, 1998

A day to celebrate the genuine article

In declaring today "Elmer Kelton Day" in all Abilene, Mayor Gary McCaleb and others are doing more than just welcoming a distinguished author to town. They're expressing a heap of gratitude to a man who has spent his life -- both as a work-a-day journalist and much-acclaimed novelist -- celebrating West Texas, its people and its ranching heritage.

Rooted to a harsh land frequently maligned and misunderstood by outsiders, 71-year-old Kelton has politely but forcefully championed those stretches west of the Brazos. And if he seems not outwardly aware that his literary themes speak to and of the American West and its values -- and he'll likely claim as much in his speech at the Abilene Woman's Club today -- it may well be because he unconsciously radiates them.

But what makes honoring the San Angelo author of The Good Old Boys and The Time It Never Rained so much fun is that the man is so terribly, aw-shucks modest. Dr. Lawrence Clayton of Hardin-Simmons University, who has written extensively on Kelton, says people who first meet him are always amazed at how humble the man truly is: "He just likes people, and it's not in his nature to be pretentious."

Today, then, we hope Elmer Kelton can sit back a spell and let us be pretentious for him.