Smilin' Jack Fan Letters

Dear Ms. Mosley,

I hope that you don't mind my writing to you since I am not a pilot nor
am I especially interested in aviation. However I was a longtime fan of
Smilin' Jack.

I started reading Smilin' Jack when I was 8 years old in 1938 and
remained a big fan of Zack Mosley and Smilin' Jack for many years.

I wouldn't be writing to you at all had my daughter not bought me this
Web TV unit about 3 years ago. I know less than nothing about computers
and don't plan on ever learning.

Why did I like Smilin' Jack so much? Well because it had very good story
lines, gorgeous gals, wonderful humor and PLENTY of action!!! Jack was a
far cry from the much dreaded politically correct heroes that we see
everywhere nowadays. There was no "message" in Smilin' Jack. He was a
man of action. Whether it was delivering a good knockout punch to the
bad guys, or turning a spoiled heiress over his knee for a well-deserved
lesson in manners (if a hero did that today you could just imagine all
the letters that the newspaper editors would get), yes indeed Smilin'
Jack was certainly a man of action!!!

Anyhow I just thought that I would send you a short note to tell you how
much I enjoyed your father's work.

Best regards,

Ed McCabe

The strip where Hardway ran over the gila monster with the jeep was pretty cool to a nine year old. It seemed like it was two weeks before I found out if the lizard was going to finish off the guy or not.

Kids' attention spans were much more prolonged in 1963 than the two or three minutes they have today. I can't wait to show these to one of my uncles who has been a pilot for over 50 years. Once in a while he'd take me up in his Stinson and later a Cessna when I was a little kid. We used to have a single engine plane airstrip in a field behind a farmer's house here in New Baltimore where he kept his plane. I still live two miles from there, but it's now a subdivision. Back then when we took off or landed in that bumpy field, I got to pretend I was Smilin' Jack.

Thanks again, and I'll let you know how the students liked the history of Smilin' Jack and your dad. I should get to it before the end of February.

Best regards,
Mike Litaker