Blue Highways: Cedar City, Utah

Unfolding the Map

Click on Thumbnail for MapCedar City is the place where William Least Heat-Moon (LHM) felt that he got one of his most important interviews in Blue Highways.  In this post, we take another look at the concept of journeys and destinations.  Click on the thumbnail at right to see all our little journeys, wrapped up in a bigger journey, all making up a small part of our biggest journey called life.

Book Quote

"The key seemed to be emergence. Carved in a rock near the village of Shipolovi is the ancient symbol for it:

Hopi emergence symbol.  Photo at Aistear InisCealtra Online.
Click on photo to go to host site.

"With variations, the symbol appears among other Indians of the Americas. Its lines represent the course a person follows on his "road of life" as he passes through birth, death, rebirth. Human existence is essentially a series of journeys, and the emergence symbol is a kind of map of the wandering soul, and image of a process; but it is also, like most Hopi symbols and ceremonies, a reminder of cosmic patterns that all human beings move in."

Blue Highways: Part 5, Chapter 4

Downtown Cedar City, Utah. Photo on Wikipedia. Click on photo to go to site.

Cedar City, Utah

Why am I going back to the Hopi when I spent a good four posts on them?   Why don't I just write about Cedar City?  Unfortunately, LHM doesn't spend much time on the town, and I've never been there - though reading about it I'd like to go see some of the sights in Cedar Breaks National Monument and perhaps see the Shakespeare Festival there.

In Blue Highways, when LHM stops in Cedar City he gets some breakfast at the campus of Southern Utah State College.  While eating, he strikes up a conversation with a Hopi man named Kendrick Fritz who is studying medicine and who wants eventually to go back to the Hopi homeland to help his people.

In an interview with Artful Dodge, LHM says that there were three interviews that were most important to him.  One was at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Georgia with Brother Patrick.  We have already been there on our literary journey.  One  is with a person we have yet to meet.  His interview with Kendrick Fritz was another of the three interviews that he felt most important.  I think that it was because the whole idea of how journeys fit into our lives came into focus for him.

The quote above captures the essence of what LHM is discovering on his trip.  Life is a series of journeys that we make separately for ourselves and together with others.  All of those journeys that we make can be combined to additively make our life's journey.  The Hopi encapsulated all of that into a maze symbol.  We essentially wander around looking for our purposes, or our meanings.  We are sometimes lost, and sometimes we know our way.  Through it all, we continue our journeys until we are called to a new world.

The way I think of it, we are journeying all the time, whether we like it or not.  In my lifetime, I will make a number of journeys on Earth, whether it's to my corner store, or the trip to Turkey that I will be making in about three weeks.  But even as I sitting here on my couch typing on my laptop, I am journeying.  In my lifetime, without really being too aware of it other than watching the years come and go, I will have made a certain as of yet unknown number of rotations around the sun, journeying in circles for the length of my existence.  The sun itself will be traveling along with other stars in the galaxy as the Milky Way continues to move outward and away from its existence.  The universe continues to expand, and we are all taking part in that journey, even though we only see a small piece of it.

The journeys don't have to be physical.  I have taken a number of emotional journeys in the past two years, some of which were not good, some of which were very good.  From all of them I will learn.  I've taken professional journeys recently as well, and will continue to hope that they all mean movement forward toward some kind of goal.  I continue to try to journey spiritually, though I don't feel I'm very successful at it.  This blog is a journey: Not only does it map my reading journeys, but it also is a journey in itself as I don't really know where it will lead me.

As I write, it's Easter Sunday.  I was raised to believe, in the Catholic tradition, that this is the most important holiday, supposedly even more than Christmas though it was hard to convince me because we got presents on Christmas.  Even this day, however, is a celebration of the culmination of one man's journey through a short but incredibly meaningful and important life, and the beginning of a journey for a new faith that would one day become one of the major religions.

We tend to think of journeys as a starting point and ending point with points of interest in between. We make lots of them, even if we aren't aware sometimes what kind of journey we are on.  All of the journeys we make are bracketed by the start and end points of our lives, the ultimate journeys of our existence.  The point of a journey is, to me, accomplishing something and learning from it.  The journey of Kendrick Fritz, the Hopi who gave LHM such an important interview, has brought him back to the Hopi to serve his people as a medical technologist.  The journey of LHM in Blue Highways brought him fame and fueled his desire to write an even more personal and in-depth account, in a book called PrairyErth, of a journey in a small corner of Kansas.  If I can accomplish and learn something on my journeys so that they add up to a well-lived and meaningful life, then I will have made the most of my time on Earth.

Zia has it right. The journey IS the destination!Even as I think of all these journeys, however, I am tempted to want to journey like my wonderful little dog.  Zia jumps into a journey at a moment's notice, whether we are just going for a walk, or if we are getting in a car.  She doesn't know where we're going - it really doesn't matter.  For her, every journey is the best journey.  My good friend Vickie, who is a very wise person, told me recently of her revelation that the journey is the destination.  I was trying to figure out what she meant by that, but watching Zia's happiness and contentment when we are going somewhere, I think I understand.  For Zia, the journey is the joy.  It is her destination, and where she's at peace.  I wish I could look at all my journeys that way, instead of being so caught up in where I think I need to be.  Yes, I want to reach goals, but my journeys are also best when I just enjoy the experience of the movement.

Musical Interlude

Today's musical interlude is Light Enough to Travel by the Be Good Tanyas.  I picked this song not so much because of the lyrics but because of the title.  I think sometimes the things that makes our life's journeys more difficult is the baggage we carry along with us.  All the should haves and would haves and unmet expectations and perceptions of failure.  When I go on a trip, I spend time thinking about what to pack - what do I need and want etc.  I plan and plan.  And like I said above, my dog just gets into the car, ready to go.  We all need to keep it light enough so that we can travel with as few burdens on us as possible and enjoy our journeys in life to the fullest.

If you want to know more about Cedar City

Cedar City Daily News (newspaper)
CedarCity.com
Cedar City Official Website
Southern Utah University
Utah.com: Cedar City
Wikipedia: Cedar City

Next up:  Pioche, Nevada

Blue Highways: Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah

Unfolding the Map

Click on Thumbnail for MapWe are going to be cold and wondering about our own mortality in the Cedar Breaks.  William Least Heat-Moon (LHM) just gives in to whatever happens, and lives.  I reflect on what it means to face mortality, even symbolically, on this Good Friday, the most apt of days.  To see where we confront these important issues, click on the thumbnail of the map at right.

Book Quote

"At any particular moment in a man's life, he can say that everything he has done and not done, that has been done and not been done to him, has brought him to that moment.  If he's being installed as Chieftain or receiving a Nobel Prize, that's a fulfilling notion.  But if he's in a sleeping bag at ten thousand feet in a snowstorm, parked in the middle of a highway and waiting to freeze to death, the idea can make him feel calamitously stupid....

"....Perhaps fatigue or strain prevented me from worrying about the real fear; perhaps some mechanism of mind hid the true and inescapable threat.  Whatever it was, it finally came to me that I was crazy.  Maybe I was already freezing to death.  Maybe this was the way it happened.  Black Elk prays for the Grandfather Spirit to help him face the winds and walk the good road to the day of quiet...."

Blue Highways: Part 5, Chapter 3

Sandstone formations in Cedar Breaks National Monument. Photo on "bachspics" photostream at Flickr. Click on photo to go to site.Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah

As I write this, it is Good Friday in the Christian tradition.  Most of us raised in the Christian faith know the generalities of the Passion of Christ, and even it weren't laden with so much symbolism that occasionally gets in the way of its message (depending on one's interpretation), it would still be a good story.  The narrative basically comes down to this: a much revered man, a teacher whose growing name and popularity is a threat to the established power structure, is betrayed by a supporter and is punished with the ultimate sacrifice - his life.  However, his fame and his influence outlast his death and a movement begins that will ultimately claim billions of people.

The part of the story that always interests me is the decision that Jesus of Nazareth made, amidst very human fear, to go ahead with his part in the story even though he knew it meant death.  I am a person who believes that at times, we all face fears about our decisions.  Even if we know the path we must tread, we might still have a moment of indecision, doubt and fear.  Jesus prayed a long time in the garden, and could have taken the opportunity when his disciples fell asleep to leave and save himself.  But he didn't.  He accepted his role come what may.

We are asked in any religion to compare ourselves with the important people who have made those kinds of decisions.  We are told to put ourselves into their places and do as they would do.  We are judged by how close we can get to following their example.  In my Christian tradition, we are exhorted to be Christlike.  Followers of Islam strive to live up to the ideals set forth by Mohammed.  Buddhists seek to reach the enlightenment of Guatama Buddha.  Nearly all of us fail in some way or another, but we are judged worthy if we continue to try.

But I believe that we all, at times in our lives, face that Jesus moment.  We look back at what brought us to the place that we are and question why we are there.  We look forward and maybe we see what's ahead and maybe we don't, and we are afraid.  It is in those moments, I believe, that we show our true courage as humans if we continue on the path before us.  Some of my proudest moments are the ones where I have taken the path ahead despite my fears, and some of my bleakest moments have been the ones where I have not because of my fears.  As I was thinking about this, I remembered a passage in On the Road where Sal Paradise turns back in a storm at the Bear Mountain Bridge, cursing himself "for being such a damn fool."

It is a bit of a stretch to put LHM's situation in the Cedar Breaks on par with a man who, the stories say, sacrificed himself in the name of humanity.  But in the Cedar Breaks, as LHM was faced with spending the night on a cold summit buffeted by lightning, wind and snow after not expecting such a storm, he confronts fears and demons and questions his path.  He can't move forward and he can't go back, as much as he would prefer to do so.  He fears his demons, symbolized by the bears he thinks are lurking outside and ready to tear him apart.  At some point, he gives in.  Whatever happens will happen.

Of course, LHM's story does not end with his ultimate sacrifice.  The storm abates, and he drives away cold but alive in the morning.  But when he went to sleep, he was somewhat afraid for his life.  Those moments, I believe, are some of the most important points of our lives.  We don't actually have to stand perilously between life and death like LHM did, but symbolically we will face decisions that may mean a kind of death: a death of our old comfortable life to something new and unknown, such as a new job or relationship; or a transformation of our old thinking to a new perspective; or perhaps the actual passing of a loved one whose loss leaves us empty.  In those moments, I believe that we are most fully human and most fully divine when we display that courage to step across our fear and doubts and go forward to wherever our path leads.  It is in those moments that our life truly changes, we take the risk to learn and grow, and ultimately, I think, we see the paradox of our lives: our complete insignificance in the the context of the forces greater than ourselves at work in the universe but also our incredible significance in whatever sphere of influence we occupy in this reality.

Musical Interlude

What would Good Friday and a post about sacrifice, fear, courage and transition be without Monty Python, particularly The Life of Brian.  Often, when life gets me down, I try to remember this little ditty, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, which always makes me smile. With a wonderfully simple tune, it gently reminds us to keep our head up and laugh even when everything seems dark and absurd.

If you want to know more about Cedar Breaks

AmericanSouthwest.com: Cedar Breaks
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Scenic Southern Utah: Cedar Breaks
Utah.com: Cedar Breaks
Wikipedia: Cedar Breaks
Wikitravel: Cedar Breaks

Next up: Cedar City, Utah

On the Road: Salt Lake City, Utah

Note: First published on Blogger on August 25, 2006

Click on Thumbnail for MapUnfolding the Map

Sal scoots through the state of Utah, passing through it's capital by bus and doesn't appear to stop. You can move on too, or stay and linger awhile. As always, click the image if you want to see the map.

Book Quote

"...arriving at Salt Lake City at dawn--a city of sprinklers, the least likely place for Dean to have been born..." 

On the Road, Chapter 11

Salt Lake City, Utah

I have never been to Salt Lake City, but I've heard and read much about it. My father, who passed through after basic training during World War II, thought it funny that the statue of Brigham Young was positioned so that "his ass pointed toward the temple." I'm not sure if that's true or not but it made him laugh, and I wasn't able to share a lot of moments like that with him, so I laughed too.

In high school, one of my best friends was Mormon. We had a friendship like any other. We drank Cokes and Pepsi together. I had heard that Mormans couldn't drink caffeine, and asked him why he did. He said that Mormons were allowed to drink caffeinated soft drinks, but they still couldn't drink coffee.

In truth, I was always slightly fascinated about Mormon beliefs even before I knew about the salacious history and the conspiracy theories. John, my friend, had a great family that was very close knit. I spent a lot of time at his house. He was very giving with his friends, often inviting our teammates from the cross country team to come to the church after hours in the evening. I think his dad, who was also our biology teacher, had a leadership position in the stake. It had a small gym with a basketball court, and we would shoot around. Eventually, this stopped because I think someone with the church may have said something to his dad.

I often wondered, after reading the Book of Mormon, how his father reconciled his scientific beliefs with the writings of Joseph Smith, which seemed to me like a wonderful setting for a fantasy novel but pretty out there for a religion. In hindsight, in the larger scheme of things, I've learned that all humanity believes in things that with a completely logical view do not make sense, but are accepted for their lessons or, on an even more general scale, on faith.

Just after our senior year ended, John went away on mission. He didn't talk much about it to us, because I think he felt we wouldn't understand. He was gone for two years in Brazil, and I really didn't learn too much about his experience. Eventually, we all moved away. He ended up in Cowley, Wyoming, way up in the northwest corner of the state, and I was living in Milwaukee when he called and asked me to be his best man. However, there was a catch. Because I wasn't Mormon, I couldn't participate in the wedding at the temple. I caught the big grey dog from Milwaukee and rode it 21 hours to Billings, Montana where he picked me up and brought me down to Cowley, and I was best man at the reception. However, after that regular contact became semi-regular and then irregular. He now has a huge All-American and beautiful looking family of four kids in all, but there may be five.

Occasionally I see bicycling, shirt-tie-slacks wearing Mormon missionaries wandering around the "war zone" or inner city of Albuquerque, looking extremely out of place, which only adds to the mystery and intrigue of the religion to me. The first Sherlock Holmes story I read, A Study in Scarlet, involves a Mormon assassin wreaking vengeance. I have also recently read Jon Krakauer's book Under the Banner of Heaven, which explores a murder among the fundamentalist offshoots of the Mormons and places it in context with the history of Mormonism. Needless to say, it is controversial. I have also noted the arrest recently on charges related to polygamy of Warren Jeffs, a fundamentalist Mormon leader on the Arizona-Utah border who literally ruled Colorado City and Hildale with an iron fist. Reconciling the experiences I have had with strong, upright Mormons and the mysterious and dark underworld hovering about them has provided fascinating fodder for discussion and reflection.

However, one thing that cannot be disputed is the Mormons' pioneer spirit, which led to Salt Lake City's establishment. After facing very real persecution in Illinois and Missouri and watching their leader, Joseph Smith, killed, they decided that the only remedy was to follow their charismatic new leader, Brigham Young, on a trek of over a thousand miles across unforgiving wilderness and settle their own Zion, which they named Deseret, far away from everyone. Jack and Sal, for a good part of their journey to Denver, actually follow the remnants of the Mormon Trail through Nebraska. Perhaps the energy, courage and fortitude of the early Mormon pioneers infuses Sal subconsciously, and certainly, his destination in California is reality in large part because Mormon pioneers blazed the trail. While Salt Lake City sits quiet and rates less than a sentence in On the Road, it is perhaps symbolically as important as any other site along Sal's journey.

If you want to know more about Salt Lake City and its pioneers:

Brigham Young University (not in Salt Lake but a big part of the present Mormon story)
Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints
Deseret News
Salt Lake City Tribune
Salt Lake City Visitors Guide
University of Utah
Wikipedia: Brigham Young
Wikipedia: Salt Lake City

Next up: Reno, Nevada