A liquor store parking lot, and a journey back through time.
I've noticed this lot ever since I moved back up to Rockland County, after many years away. Last winter, I began walking to town, first from my mother's place, then closer to town on my own. It's a little cemetery squeezed in between two shopping lots, a place of history that pops out in contrast to the bland surroundings. But the headstones weren't the only thing that attracted my notice. A lot of loud-mouthed, raucous crows squawked at me whenever I walked to the grocery store, cutting across one parking lot to the next.
A noisy family of crows circled overhead, whenever I came near.
And just like so much in my life, a seemingly random gaggle of circling, noisy black birds led me back in time to a place of big mythological significance to me, because not only am I heir to the oldest Métis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9tis) and Acadian roots of this New World, but I am also a descendant of the very first Dutch and British families, too.
Cemetery in wintertime.
Such is the nature of inheritance, in this Autumn time when the old spirits and the new mingle in the air over cemeteries from times long past, beckoning to me again and again, by no mere accident or quirk of chance. That's the power of fate.
Ah, yes. This is no accident or random event.
When our local historian, who is also one of our librarians, told me that the old Bogert farm was near a large well and the encampments of two Indian tribes, I had to smile because deep down, I already knew it. I felt it in my bones, just as the crows called it out to me showily, heralding aloud that I had arrived safely home, from travels near and far, surviving adventures both small and frightful, big and powerful, dangerous and heady, just like my ancestors had. I'm back, and I'm ready to share my story with all of you.
So the very next question I get after "What do you do for a living?" is: "What's your favorite book cover?" The answer is blessedly, and somewhat surprisingly simple, given my expert and professional familiarity with all things book-related:
It's the first story we know of in Old English (along with The Canterbury Tales), and it remains the defining, classically mythic tale of a warrior, a monster, and a quest. Along the way, Beowulf encounters every pitfall an epic hero must face: the trials, the tribulations, the doubts, the tests of character, the feats of strengths, and then the one flaw in his character leading to failure that, while momentary, results in an enormous fall from grace, and finally his battle and ultimate triumph of good over evil, which is the life every great person leads. It's the story of humanity, the stuff of legends, and it is the very nature of life itself. You don't get better than that. Incidentally, while I'm here at home in the country, amongst the places I was raised, it seems fitting for me to thank my senior year H.S. English Lit teacher Mr. Bennett, for making us read aloud in class the original fable in Old English before we read the translation. It was hard, it was painful, and it was a lot of work, but in the end, I wouldn't be the publisher I am without that rock solid foundation. It formed the basis for my deep love and appreciation of the English language that has never abated, much maligned as it is worldwide as the blunt, simplistic business language of Capitalism, commerce, and money. To those of us who know this tongue well on a very deep and intimate level, it is every bit as mysterious, seductive, romantic, powerful, poetic, strong, lyrical and beautiful as the Indo-European, Norman, and Anglo-Saxon roots it sprung from, remaining an anomaly amongst the Romance and Latin-based languages of Western Europe. Rock on to Kublai Khan, Mr. Bennett. You are one cool dude.
PS-Me and Karen totally spotted you riding your old car with the windows down on Main Street in Nyack back in the day (1987), shirtless and smiling. We waved to you and you waved back. What a great model you are for a purpose driven life. Kudos!
Globe Trekker has some of the coolest music ever made for T.V. It's one of those opening themes that immediately gets you pumped up for armchair travel. There's the awesome Native Trekker creating a circle around him that morphs into a spinning globe lit from within—a great sequence that encapsulates the change in perspective that composes the mindset of those who travel well. Ian is my favorite!
You must absorb the best lessons from your culture first, placing yourself firmly within your immediate surroundings with your feet flat on the ground, so that when you do extend yourself outward, you bring home with you wherever you go, never losing who you are because you carry it with you. The seasoned Trekker has simply set aside some time to explore and discover the world. It's the great Aboriginal concept of a "Walkabout", and it is a crucial piece of development for any one who is learning to spread their wings to fly. It's the nature of A Quest, that mythic transformation from a child (still afraid of the dark) to a young adult ready to see the world. Let's go!
Each program's theme is tailored to that episode, taking native instrumental elements and weaving it into the overall background music. As we progress towards a World Culture, reaching for that shared, shining Star Trek vision, we will never lose our local selves as we step forward into a united future. We are this world. See you out and about, be it here or there, near or far.Happy travels!
