John Wayne would have been 109 years old yesterday. Born Marion Mitchell Morrison, "The Duke" was one of my favorite cowboy heroes. Tough. Fair. And for a man of so few words, he always had something smart to say.

As I was watching some of his old movies on DVD this week, I decided to gather up a few of my favorite quotes to share with you in honor of his birthday.

• Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.
• Talk low, talk slow, and don't talk too much.
• Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday.
• Get off your horse and drink your milk.

And my favorite of all:

• When you come to see a picture of mine, I want you to know that I'm not going to do anything that will make you uncomfortable. I want you to know that you won't be disappointed in me.

I was never, ever disappointed in a John Wayne movie or in the man. To me, he was and still is, one of America's greatest heroes. On screen and off.