Myth's End

Wood smoke rises from the stone chimney and the churning fan on the furnace lends reassurance that all is well in the world.  


I just finished watching a documentary by Ken Burns entitled "The West" which was rather depressing as it seemed to have more to do with loss than discovery.  It is not easy to admire the carriers of The Cross as they always seemed to be carrying guns, disease and a thirst for unrestrained exploitation as well.  The story of "European Spies a T-Pee" is an accepted bummer and leaves anyone of said descent feeling either deeply guilty or darn disappointed they weren't around to share in the virgin bounty.  


Is there any myth left to The West?  Perhaps I should take to the American highway in the coming months and see.  I crossed the USA by land only once and that was way back in 1974.  As things have changed so much since then, I imagine it might be well worth revisiting dusty old Omaha, Cheyenne, Denver and Flagstaff.  


I suppose I could make the trip in a Chevy van, sleeping in the back on a twin mattress, anxious for the day when I will meet a pretty girl in some teardrop of a town; a girl with a smile she has saved all her life just for me.  We will fall in love as the sun turns the horizon orange and sparks swirl skyward from our road-side camp-fire.  The next morning she will have given birth to three or four rug-rats and I will have awaken to a life of changing oil filters and brakes in the local Meineke franchise.  I will wear a greasy form fitting tee-shirt and a disillusioned sneer as I air wrench off rusted bolts from car chassises. She will hum Taylor Swift melodies outside our cotton-wood shaded bungalow as she clothespins diapers and faded summer dresses to the line, her figure still clock-stopping but now unappreciated by my dog-tired eyes as each evening I bang through the screen door and beeline to the fridge for the first of my nightly twelve pack of Coors.  She eventually will leave me for the owner of the KIA dealership and I will end up in Santa Barbara, CA working for the phone company.

Hmmmm... maybe discovering The West is not such a great idea.