Soapy Smith the hero?

Occasionally I receive emails from people who feel I am glorifying Soapy as a "patriotic hero." Recently I got one from a gentleman who felt this way because of the small logos and pictures I post below each article. I can understand how this thought might come to mind when viewing pictures such as the right to the right. However, this is a mistaken assumption. I, personally, do not actually believe my great-grandfather was a hero. I do consider that it is possible that he may have felt that about himself at times. There is no doubt in my mind that he was very patriotic towards his country. Some of his outward zeal could have been for public show to improve his standing in the eyes of his community. It is this "zeal" that many of my little after-post pictures represent. I make and use these little gems to represent how Soapy perhaps felt about himself.

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