Jana met her future husband on one of the yahoo forums for
"The Rifleman"

I think this is so neat!  You just have got to hear what Jana had to say.

I started watching reruns as a child in the early 90's and fell in love with it.  My first recordings were on VHS.  I still have those although they hardly play any more.  Now I've upgraded to DVR and I am very thankful for the Encore Western channel.  I cried like a baby when Chuck Connors passed away (none of my friends could relate) and I even credit The Rifleman with introducing me to my husband (long story).  So I guess you could say it has had a profound effect on my life.  One of these days I'd love to see Johnny Crawford's orchestra in action.  I recently got his new CD.  Now I am passing the love on to my kids.  My 5 year old son thinks Lucas and Mark are the bomb and he loves to hear the "Mark music".  I'm still trying to convince him that his name is Johnny.

My husband and I actually met via the Yahoo group.  He watched the Rifleman back in the 60's.  When he went to join The Rifleman group and saw all the trivia I had written he sent me an instant message after noticing I was online at the time.  He didn't believe that a 24 year old woman would know all that stuff about a western from the 50's and 60's.  Little did he know!  Anyway, after we started chatting, we realized we lived only about 2 hours away from each other.  We emailed and talked on the phone for a while and finally met in person.  We fell in love and were married a year later.  That was in 2001. One of my wedding presents from him was the Rifleman boxed sets that MPI put out a while back. Needless to say, I loved it!  We may be the only people in the world who watched Rifleman DVD's on our honeymoon. 

I remember the very first time I saw the show.  I was about ten years old and it was the "Face of Yesterday" episode.  I was hooked instantly.  The pure emotion of the show, particularly the relationship of Lucas and Mark, is what pulled me in.  From then on I never missed a Saturday watching it.  I remember it came on Fox at 11:30 and then on the Family Channel at noon and 12:30.  I would tape each episode and then watch them several times during the week.  Lucas was my hero and I adored Mark.  My family life wasn't the best at the time and the way they related to each other touched me.  I will always remember how Lucas always respected Mark and treated him like his feelings and opinions mattered.  I've tried to do that with my kids.  Anyway, I guess you'd say that the show and the people in it really shaped who I am in a lot of ways.  I feel like I learned a lot about life from Lucas McCain!  I wish I had had the chance to meet Chuck.  It would've meant the world to me.  Maybe one day I'll meet Johnny....who knows?  I can dream!  Now I am passing the show on to my kids.  When my son was just 3 years old he would tell people that "Chuck Connors is the Rifleman".  He's almost 6 now.  He and my daughter think of the McCain’s as extended family.  I don't know if you are familiar with the Wii gaming machine or not, but they even created Lucas and Mark characters on there. 

Luke and Mark on the Wii. 

Thank you Jana for sharing your story with us!
Here are some other great stories.  Enjoy!

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