Doc Holliday didn’t begin his career as a gunslinger. The fact that he was known as “Doc” speaks to his first profession. For as sure and true as his aim might have been, his initial career path did not involve shooting bullets—it involved pulling teeth. He was a dentist by trade who ended up becoming a gambler and gunslinger by necessity.
Diagnosed with tuberculosis, Doc Holliday knew that he was living on borrowed time, and he lived his life accordingly. He didn’t waste one precious moment fearing what might happen to him should things not go his way. Yes, just as clearly as he knew the stakes in a card game, he knew that life was a gamble. He simply lived from one day to another, playing the hand that he was dealt as best he could. This is his life and his story in full.
