Was Doc Holliday The "Ideal Man"?

Doc Holliday

Good Evenin'! How are you? I'm good, I'm good. Now, let's run to this topic like how I run to Wendy's after seeing their latest Baconator commercial!

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Today we are discussing Mr. Huckleberry himself, Doc Holliday. More specifically the Doc Holliday portrayed in the 1993 western, Tombstone.

Doc is first seen in a bar, hustling some unlucky fella in a game of poker. Right at the start of the scene anyone can tell that he is a great character. After he stabs the fella, robs the bar, and leaves with his dusky hue a few more observations can be made as well.

Doc is a dangerous, charismatic man. He lives his life on the edge. He goes from town to town with his dame hustling, drinking, and occasionally killing. He has no worries, fears, or doubts.....or time for that matter.

You see, Doc has a large motivator for his lifestyle. It is his impending doom. He has tuberculosis, which in those times was a death sentence. His plan is to live his life to the fullest until he finally dies of his sickness. This is exactly how it would have happened too, if not for his one friend, Wyatt.

Wyatt strolls his way into town like any other awesome western hero. By that I mean he does a few heroic acts like slapping a jerk who is hitting a horse, and doing away with a douche-bag dealer in a gambling house. After these acts of valor, Doc meets up with Wyatt and they exchange one-liners like the cool dudes they are. This reunion leads to the "meat" of the movie (to which I am referring to Wyatt and his deputies, Doc included, hunting down all the members of the gang known as the "cowboys"). But it is the end of the movie that I would like to highlight.

Doc is on his deathbed, and his only visitor is, of course, Wyatt. Wyatt tries to lighten the mood with a card game, but Doc isn't having it. He says, "I don't want to play anymore." With this single line, his entire character is changed.

Doc is no longer the man we thought he was. Heck, he isn't even the man HE thought he was. Doc is sad on his deathbed. Why though? He had an awesome life! He had a hot girl, tons of money, a load of swagger, and not a care in the world! What more could he possibly want!? Well, I'll tell you.

Doc wants a family. He wants love and responsibility. He wants friends, you know, people who care about him. How do I know this? Because of this line: "Live for me Wyatt." Doc tells Wyatt to go grab that girl he loves, and live life. And I mean REALLY live life. Not robbing, or killing, or running from the law. But loving, caring, and having people who care for him back.

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Doc was cool. He had a silver tongue, a quick draw, and a sharp mind. But he let his heart grow dark. There is a lesson we can take away from this. It is that being a man doesn't mean we have to shield ourselves from our feelings. We don't have to be afraid to care for something. Being a man isn't all about getting dusky hues and hustling everyone we meet. It's about taking on responsibilities, and finding the woman we love. Was Doc the ideal man? At the end, I think he really was.