We flew to Las Vegas, a city of half a million in a metro area of just about 2 million. I had only been there once, thirty years before. I had young daughters then and we had camped all the way. This time, we stayed in a downtown casino and got to know the place a little more from the angle for which it is famous: commercialization of sex, all sorts of noise - all at high volume and general confusion. The contrast between all of that and the quiet of the south rim of the Grand Canyon at dawn is almost too strong to bear.
Getting home, we received the mail the post office held for us in two main batches: periodicals and letters. About 75% of the mail is ads, mostly for charities. Lynn is the charity officer of the family and works hard to strip out junk, and overly solicitous organizations no matter how noble their aim. I like the fast, brutal approach from our mailbox straight to recycling but she feels better examining each piece, even if just a glance at the outside.
When I see several issues of magazines in a pile, I zip through them, turning pages at a fast pace. Once in a while, there is an article that makes me pause. In Time, I saw an article on the dangers of too much sitting. This is a subject of strong interest to me and one that has been steadily rising in the media. I showed that article to Lynn, who is working on cropping and sprucing up 1000 pictures of our trip. She is also unpacking and doing two weeks of laundry. When she saw the article, she said,"Tell me what it says". I said,"Don't sit".
That is what we are dealing with these days. We are engulfed in dozens of choices, often all excellent. Much like those super cafeterias, where there are dozens of totally delicious dishes that I face with an expanding waistline. We have limited time and personal energy to read, learn, travel, to live and often just want the basics. What does it say? Just give me the essence, if there even is one.
Going out west is being immersed in struggle, obstacles and the basic will to keep going at a task. The pioneers, the immigrants, were all faced with ignorance, trickery, disaster and very hard living. Whether it is in the casinos and their mixture of booze, flashing lights, and baggy eyes staring from blank faces, or on the endless acres of scattered plants that know how to wrestle a life from heat and drought among rocks of subtle colors, you can see struggle and grim determination.
It is inspiring to see the streets and stores in places that two hundred years ago there was only sand. It is inspiring to see plants, and animals, and people with stamina for living and appreciation of life.
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
