Mar. 24, 2011
Dear Clyde Barrow,
You were an outlaw, a robber, escaped convict, murderer and even a celebrity. You & your girlfriend Bonnie Parker & the Barrow gang certainly had a unique style. Robbing small banks, gas stations and stores, the most you ever took was $1,500.
Bonnie took numerous pictures of the two of you and many rolls of film were left behind in the stolen cars you abandoned. She also loved to write poetry & some of her poems were also left behind.
Your gang didn’t kill all the police officers you came upon. In fact, many times you would “kidnap” them and take them on joy rides, not killing all of them, but certainly scaring them! All this added to your fame and notoriety.
Just like celebrities today, you even changed your name to sound more illustrious. You were born Clyde Chestnut Barrow, but later signed your name as Clyde “Champion” Barrow.
One thing I found we have in common, Clyde, is that we both like Fords. In April 1934 you even wrote a letter to Henry Ford, thanking him for such a “dandy” car. After all, whenever you stole a car, you always made sure it was a Ford!
“Dear Sir: -
While I still have got breath in my lungs I will tell you what a dandy car you make. I have drove Fords exclusively when I could get away with one. For sustained speed and freedom from trouble the Ford has got every other car skinned and even if my business hasen't been strictly legal it don't hurt any thing to tell you what a fine car you got in the V8.
Yours truly,
Clyde Champion Barrow”
While I still have got breath in my lungs I will tell you what a dandy car you make. I have drove Fords exclusively when I could get away with one. For sustained speed and freedom from trouble the Ford has got every other car skinned and even if my business hasen't been strictly legal it don't hurt any thing to tell you what a fine car you got in the V8.
Yours truly,
Clyde Champion Barrow”
You were shot and killed, along with Bonnie, in Louisiana in 1934 at the age of 25. Your car was riddled with hundreds of bullets, as well as your bodies. You were buried in West Dallas, Texas. Although Bonnie’s wish was to be buried at your side, her family wouldn’t allow it and she was buried in another cemetery also in West Dallas.
The 1967, movie “Bonnie and Clyde,” starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, portray you both as attractive and chic. However, to be honest, the photos you left behind don’t show you looked anything like those two actors. But, I must say, I love that movie!
This would have been your 102nd birthday today. For only having lived on this earth for 25 years, you certainly made a name for yourself, Clyde—however, perhaps not a good name, but certainly a renowned one.
Happy Birthday,
Regards, Mrs Love
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