This afternoon, we got a pretty pleasant storm here in Denver. It's been a constant happening, the afternoon thunderstorms that have always threatened us Coloradans but in recent years, haven't quite delivered. I don't know how much precipitation it adds up to, but it feels pretty damn nice. It gives me a chance to catch up on my reading and. Writing.
I saw this statue the other day. Lady Liberty had in her arms a fallen Spartan, a representation of all of the warriors who had fought and died for this country.
I tend not to get very patriotic about such things, and -I imagine that this blog entry won't seem very patriotic to most people. However, some of you, I hope, will get it, and to those, I write.
The look of her face was akin to a mother looking over her wounded child. To speak in metaphor, in our current political and economical environment, I don't believe that it's a look of sadness in regards to us being hurt. I think it would be more accurate as a look of disappointment in all of the mistakes we have made as a country.
We stand divided, plagued by many issues. Yes, no nation is perfect, and even the smallest communities have discord about how to manage themselves. But we, as Americans, have gotten so far off track with what was originally hoped for us.
As we approach the two hundred and thirty-ninth anniversary of our independence from Great Britain, we seem to be twice that far removed from the true ideas of patriotism, the ideas of challenging your government for what you believe to be right, of seeking information and taking an active role in our government, even if it's as little an effort as making informed decisions in voting.
To put it plainly, we've gotten lazy. We're drinking the Kool-Aid. We aren't working hard for what we have had given to us. We are complacent, enjoying all of the good things we have now without acknowledging the fights and struggles and work that went into it. We are spoiled children, given all of the best toys and refusing to work until absolutely necessary, and even then, with minimal effort.
Sorry to seem like I'm on the offensive, but I had a thought that needed to be put into writing. I hope you are able to take some motivation from these words. Rebel, not against the government, but FOR the government. It's time to step up.
As I left Salida and FIBArk and friends and family on Sunday evening, I was captivated by the sunset, so much so that I had to stop and snap a quick picture. One of the things I revisit in my head often is that the end isn't so often a bad thing. You can take that as you may, but I feel like the appropriate analogy is a sunset. When you see a spectacular sunset such as this, even though it's a metaphor for the end of the sunshine and illumination, it's an ending that holds itself in a certain amount of grace. To not acknowledge this is to do a disservice to the inherent beauty of the bigger picture. The sun may be setting here, but it's already dark in other places. Those who are in the darkness likely remember a sunset, but are in command of their own lives, their own realities.
I believe I had a point, and I think in my philosophical rant, I lost that point. Sigh... the sun set on my thought process. It was a wonderfully long weekend.
I sit here on a deck overlooking a meadow in front of the spectacular Mount Shavano. I sip wine with loved ones and enjoy the sun and the breeze. The bees buzz around with curiousity. It's so artsy.
Yesterday, I went out to breakfast with my mother at the local hot spot. I found that some people, no matter how much they've gone through, no matter how much they've grown, some of us are just too damn immature to not play with their food.
I don't think making PacMan from your pancakes is anything to be ashamed of. I think it's a mark of youthful joy. I think as long as you're not playing the "see food" game or having a food fight, I think that a little artistic expression is good for the soul.
Heck, as we learned from Richard Dreyfuss in "Close Encounters", playing with your food could even... mean something... (I know you can hear the alien song in your head right now).
The point is, in all seriousness, don't forget the things that keep you young. Keep in practice the things that may make others look at you and say, "really?" I've found that these things give us energy, strength, and an infectious happiness that doesn't just keep us young, it moves from person to person like pinkeye.
I've found wisdom and maturity... in pancakes.
I'm sitting on a curb with about a thousand of my closest new friends. There is a smell in the air of pending rain, popcorn, funnel cake, and cotton candy. The main street is closes to everything but foot traffic. The parade starts in 10 minutes. Small town parades aren't just about making cool floats and winning prizes. This is a place for the bigger family that is the small town to get together, to connect, to catch up on who's doing what. This is a place for the city to show off not only it's shiny new police cruisers and vintage firetrucks, but they will also parade the new snow plow and the new street sweeper. The trash company will slowly roll out their best trucks. Kids will ride bicycles. Shriners will ride Goldwings. Police will ride horses. Hippies will ride rafts. Beauty queens will sit in the back of 90s era Mustang convertables.
This is small town, USA, and I have a front row seat on main street.
I'm pretty sure the title sums it up, but just in case, the idea is that there's a "play hole" where the water flows over a bunch of strategically placed rocks. This gives kayakers and canoers a chance to play and do some gnarly tricks. Nothing super big going down right now, but it's always cool to watch. Like my friend Ryan says, I don't feel guilty staring since it seems people are always staring at us climbers, too.
