“Ready, Fire, Aim,” with Wild Bill

I started this road trip at John Boyd’s gravesite in Arlington Cemetery. Now I am at another cemetery, that of Wild Bill Hickock in Deadwood. After watching David Carradine’s brief but brilliant portrayal in the eponymous HBO show, I came to truly appreciate the cowboy archetype. Underneath the tackiness of pop American gunslinger lore is a much deeper decision-making doctrine. There’s a reason “Ready, Fire, Aim” has become a larger philosophy in areas like stock-trading and entrepreneurship. In another age, Wild Bill might have John Boyd or Jack Welch.