Distinctly Montana Magazine

24 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • FA L L 2 0 2 3 who had a lot of money, which was most of the town, you might regard those very same baubles with something like jealousy. It might also bear pointing out that, as Bobby's biographer Ace Collins wrote, Butte was, at that time, "a town where many still thought of Bonnie and Clyde and Pretty Boy Floyd as Amer- ican heroes[.]" Which is to say yes, there were people would wanted to buy the jewelry cheap. One by one, or even a few at a time, Bob- by divested himself of bracelets and necklaces, selling them to friends and acquaintances who appreciated a good deal. It only added to the frisson of owning them that they were, in the par- lance, hot. And then, Bobby's supply of jewelry dried up, and he stopped insinuating he knew anything about the jewelry store heist. It was only a short while after, as everyone got home with their new riches and inspected them a little closer, that they realized something wasn't right. Ole Bobby hadn't burgled the store at all. What he had done was to go buy up a bunch of costume jewelry as soon as he heard that Marsh's Jewelry had been robbed. But how did otherwise grounded Butte folks confuse cheap dime store trash with the kind of haute bijouterie offered by Marsh's Jewelry? You may as well ask how just a few short years later, at the age of 24, he managed to sell 271 insurance policies to not only the staff but also the residents, too, of Warm Springs State Hospital? Hell, you might as well ask how he managed to jump fourteen(!) Greyhound buses at the Ohio's King's Island Theme Park. In other words, it's not given to us to understand how legends perform their feats. Bobby dropped out of high school at 16 and, using his hubcap and jewelry store money, he got his first motorcycle. Or rath- er, his first purchased motorcycle, since he had previously been arrested for stealing one at 13. Within minutes of his purchase, he was zipping down the hill and through city streets going much too fast. Then he collided with a parked car, sending him over the handle- bars and onto the pavement. The motorcycle skidded into the curb and burst into flames. Bobby's leg broke, and for the first time, but certainly not the last time, Bobby was lucky to be alive. Unrepen- RECOVER WITH A PURPOSE So you can get back to living your best life. LEADING THE WAY The Bozeman Health Spine + Joint Institute is Montana's first and only certified Orthopedic & Spine Center of Excellence. Through high quality compassionate care we can get you back to living a healthier and more enjoyable lifestyle. EXCELLENCE IN ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY SERVING SOUTHWEST MONTANA & BEYOND 406-579-2799 | BozemanHealth.org Scan the QR code to start your journey today. IN OTHER WORDS, IT'S NOT GIVEN TO US TO UNDERSTAND HOW LEGENDS PERFORM THEIR FEATS.

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