Karl Milde recalls sitting by his family's staticky radio (he lived on a farm a long way from New York City from where the signal was broadcast) at eight o'clock each Wednesday evening to hear the program, The Lone Ranger." Karl liked the music (excerpts from Rossini's William Tell Overture and Les Preludes by Franz Liszt) and over time he grew to know and love the characters: John Reid, a Texas Ranger who was ambushed by a vicious gang and left for dead, and Tonto, a Native-American, who found John in the wilderness and nursed him back to health. When John woke up, he asked Tonto what had happened. Tonto replied, "You only Ranger left... Others killed. You lone Ranger."Hearing this, John decided to dedicate his life to thefight for justice. He donned a mask to hide his true identity and adopted the name, "The Lone Ranger." Affectionately calling him "kemosabe," which means "friend," Tonto promised to be his faithful companion.The Lone Ranger owned a silver mine that provided him with funds as well as silver for his matched set of silver six-guns and his famed silver bullets. He named his pure white stallion "Silver" and outfitted him with silver horseshoes. Tonto's horse was a golden Palomino that he named "Scout."The Lone Ranger never drank alcohol or smoked, always used correct grammar, and never shot to kill his adversaries. He had the ability to shoot the guns out of his adversary's hands.Inspired by this radio program, Karl wrote this book as a homage to these legendary heroes. The names became "Road Ranger" and "Toronto" (a Latino who grew up in Toronto), and the horses became motorcycles, but he otherwise tried to remain true to the original Lone Ranger story. Karl hopes you enjoy reading this book as much as he enjoyed writing it.Karl lives with his wife, Cheryl, in Somers, NY, a suburb that's due north and a one-hour train ride from New York City.
