conversations by the firelight
Silhouetted by the night fire I sit solitary in the Sawtooth’s enjoying the warmth the flame brings, a comfort to these old bones and to my weary soul. Hell Roaring Creek recklessly rushes by in its mad pursuit to join The River of No Return on its journey to the sea. Come spring when old man winter looses his frozen grip, there ain’t no guessin’ how it got its name. But its the first of fall and the roar has been moderately contained. In showy color Autumn unfolds its patchwork blanket with Aspens, Tamarack and Maples in yellow, gold, and crimson array.
I sit with my back against a log in a copse of Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine bathed in the tranquility their fragrance brings. The lanterns of the night sky brilliantly welcome the Harvest Moon as it rises to greet me in this magnificent celestial display. Beggar, a young abandoned black wolf lays by my side and Electra a mustang born and bred in the mountains are my constant companions.
My mind surrenders to reflection and retrospection laced together in a quilt of missed opportunities and regrets, hope and forgiveness. I sense keenly my connection to all that came before and all that comes after.
Beggar and Electra both awaken me out of my silent reverie, announcing your presence. ‘Come and sit a spell. Coffee’s on. I’ve been expecting ya’. Makin’ yourself comfortable and cradling a hot cup of joe you ask, ‘help me understand. I’m in the year 2023 and you in the year 1875. How can this be’? ‘Let me explain it like this’ I said. ‘Your old 78 rpm music discs, now popular again, are listened to by placing the needle on the flat record surface that is round and a symbol of things eternal. You can place the needle anywhere on the surface to engage the sound at that given juncture. So it is that all that presently is, has been, or will be can be accessed at any given time. It’s all been recorded, but in time’s linear progression we don’t normally experience events until the person, place, and time coincide. It’s not that they didn’t always exist’.
‘Currently the past is more readily obtainable but clouded by historians and their blighted view of events often written long after they occurred, or accounts detailed by the victor. Nostalgic radio brings you Amos and Andy, Lum and Abner and television has entire channels dedicated to reruns. And not to fer from now the oldest surviving silent movie will be made in 1888 by the Englishman Louis Le Prince entitled ‘The Roundhay Garden Scene’.
‘Although the past appears more accessible, the future is often alluded to in books and movies that we call ‘fiction’ our minds not comfortable with the technology that is interposed or the dystopian future that is often exposed. To most it is the world of fantasy and science fiction and we are content to leave it there. And sometimes people and things will appear totally out of context and disconnected to the era they’re in and simply don’t belong there. At least not yet. Remember when the distinction of past, present, and future is removed, your access to any place on the record is guaranteed’.
You ask about man’s will and the accountability for his choices. ‘Well, just because what is in the heart of a man is known doesn’t mean he won’t have to answer for or bear the consequences for his actions and decisions. These things are known and recorded not coerced or involuntary. Absolute justice will absolutely prevail’.
It’s 1875 and you wonder about the Indians claim to the land calling the white eyes interlopers and intruders trespassing on his land. ‘The earth’ I answer, ‘belongs to no one, but is home to everyone. How can you say you own something that you owe your life to? It provides everything for our living, and is far greater than any one of us. Respect it. Use but don’t abuse. And respect its diverseness and the people that occupy it. Honor racial streams, appreciate your differences, establish boundaries and keep your promises’.
Pausing I reflect on my memories before the earth became so scarred; before there were wagon trains and trails across the great divide; before railroads dissected the plains and connected the continent; before telegraph wires were stretched to every hamlet and town that now dotted the landscape like the pox; before man gouged and trampled its pristine beauty. I truly wish everyone could have seen it……. ‘before’. To me it feels like an old wound that won’t heal, an ancient ache that won’t go away. What once was now bearing little resemblance to the present modern world gone mad.
‘We both live in an unjust world where each man has his own logic’, I spoke. ‘So armed he defends himself and justifies his actions. And as long as he justifies himself he will never change. He can always find someone who will agree with him thus reinforcing his thoughts and at least in his own mind validating his decisions. He is under the influence i.e. other people and cultural norms. Convenience, financial culpability, and the little lie that says every one else is doin’ it why shouldn’t I, are often used as the reason for their moral treason’. And remember……..no man is just in the eyes of God. His loyalty is only to himself, not to his maker.
‘Now don’t be a goin’ and wasting yer time’ I continued, trying to convince a fool of the error of his ways. You be treadin’ on thin ice in a fool’s paradise. Only a fool thinks he can change the mind of another fool’.
‘Having said, its time for me to lay out my bed and find rest for my sleepy head’. ‘Au revoir mon ami’. And shaking my visitors hand I said, ‘we will meet again soon’.
As he departed a skeletal finger of lightning flashed in the far northern sky. I lay my head on my saddle, a cowboys pillow knowin’ it wouldn’t rain on me tonight. I have a view known only to a few. ‘Good night ya all’.
‘Oh! I think I’ll have a little hair of the dog just a nip or two. It helps my mind to rest so my body can to. Sweet dreams’.
to be continued……….