Only on Hilton Head: Cowboy rides to the rescue on Hilton Head

So did you hear the one about the cowboy who rode into town from Montana?

Well neither had I, until my friend Michael Ciavolino at Edward Jones called this morning and said this: “Hey Carmen, a cowboy just rode into town from Montana. Might be a good story for the paper.”

Newspaper writers often get calls like this and are never quite sure how to respond. Is it the beginning of a bartender’s joke, as in, “Two horses walked into a bar and ordered tequila shots…”?

Thanks to cellphone cameras, we can now usually verify the report.

Doc Mishler, formerly a horse breeder, began his journey June 16, 2002, on a mission to spread awareness of the appallingly high child starvation numbers in a world that can afford to feed them all. Among his many experiences during his travels, he has testified before Congress and was later made an honorary marshal by the good folks of Dodge City, Kan.

We met at Port Royal Plaza, where he drew quite a crowd after hitching his two horses — Charity Two and A White Cloud — to a tree in the parking lot and went for breakfast, a gift from Ciavolino. While he was there, a number of people went online and placed phone calls in an effort to help him find a place to stay and put up his horses for a couple of days before he continues on up the coast.

Ever grateful, he has learned not to plan too far in the future.

“God provides through my fellow man,” said Mishler with enormous conviction.

He does not stand for any one charity but merely reiterates that we need to take care of all of God’s children. He cautions us to research any organization when considering a donation. When pressed, he will accept contributions to feed himself and his horses, but that is all.

After becoming disillusioned by what he regards as corruption at the top of organized religions around the world, Doc began his mission to spread hunger awareness. Well versed in Biblical scripture, he believes mankind lost track of God’s true message when we began ignoring the needs of children.

States his leaflet: “Whereas every single day, 35,000 children die of hunger or hunger-related illness on the earth” — a staggering number in light of this land of plenty, where obesity is one of our top health concerns.

Doc is himself a cancer survivor who received much inspiration from his deep faith in God and a book, “How Then Shall We Live,” by Francis Schaeffer.

His commitment is admirable. He has traversed the country twice now, continuing on even after hip-replacement surgery and a broken pelvis, when he was told he would never ride again. Almost 80 years old, and on his 14th year of traveling alone on horseback, it’s obvious the naysayers were wrong. Mishler is not one who takes no for an answer.

He is glad to hand out leaflets explaining his cause and history, including a website for referral — www.churchcommunitiesinternational.org — and of course, poses for lots of pictures.

When we left him Friday, the children from Programs for Exceptional People had come from next door to pet his horses.

After all, who can resist a cowboy with a cause?

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Only on Hilton Head: Cowboy rides to the rescue on Hilton Head."