|
|
My parents took me to Arches National Park for 4 days. We laughed and talked and slept in their camper under more stars than I've seen in years--more stars than I've probably EVER noticed. We ate simply and stopped at a grocery store if need-be. Just like old times. "The best way to go," my dad (who has a firm opinion about everything) reminded me. "It's cheaper, and everybody can get what they want." I practically mouthed the words, for I've heard him say that for 28 years. He continued, "I just don't like restaurants--they're expensive and pretentious." I love my father. A man who is content to sit on a rock or a bench and eat his yogurt and bread and fig newtons. But also a man who walks through the world's wonders not just with wonder and awe (though that, too), but also with a curiousity that reveals his scientific mind. He discusses everything he sees, finding explanations and noting discrepancies. For example, I may just see a brilliant red arch and so sit in the stupor of the world's beauties, my mind as empty as the blue sky around me--thoughts drifting as clouds drift. My dad sees a brilliant red arch, sighs at its beauty, and then his mind gets to work identifying the science behind its color, shape, texture, and size. He then has a lively conversation with whomever is nearby about the geology or geography of the place. And my dad will talk to just about anybody. And just as personally as if they were family. Several times I watched him speak jovially to passing German tourists, sometimes 15, 20 minutes passing. My mom was content to listen and smile for the first 5 minutes, and then find a shading juniper tree, and I was glad to find a minute more to myself to drop my jaw at the width of the landscape, at the blueness of the sky. And he never misses a beat. While I slept off a migraine in the morning, he was off with my mom exploring and hiking, coaxing her down ledges or finding her alternative, easier paths to follow. Later, while my mom rested with a book (after the ledge experience, she needed a break!), he and I biked a gravel road that bent down off the mesa and slithered endlessly across a giant, desert valley. He's one of my favorite on this planet. A complex, beautiful, but childlike man. AFK, ck [2003-05-25]
Navigation newest letter | older letters
Last five letters Gathering [2009-09-04] ?2002, Scott & Celeste. |