In Praise of Toby Keith, Carl Weathers, and Every Other Wild American

In early January, I lost a dear friend, Jeff Guillebeau, a natural leader of men. His human heart could not keep up with the sacrificial love demanded of it by his warrior spirit. Jeff was 59.

Almost a month later, actor Carl Weathers died in his sleep. Hollywood cast him in various roles, but to men of Generation X like me, he’ll always be Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa’s nemesis-turned–best friend in the Rocky movie franchise. Weathers was 76.