He was walking further and further up the trail, in step with all the male members of his family. His brothers were ahead and the old man was bringing up the rear. They were moving away from the connection to “the world” that we know, the world as we are told, the world that we have become spectators of, and toward what we all crave mid-summer, the back country of our lives. However, the Chicago Cubs were one game away from winning the pennant. It was 1984.
The trail out of Grand Lake, CO was easy walking to start, and saved its steepest grade for last. Those last few miles are naturally designed to weed out the lesser 95% and welcome those willing, to the top. Great views, clean water, ecological diversity, and maybe, just maybe, reception on the little red transistor radio wedged into the rock at the peak.
The conversation was as usual, food acceptable, fishing extrordinary, weather cooperative, bugs missing in action, and according to the fading static, the North-siders were up with a few innings remaining.
Getting away is so difficult anyway. But with such a historical event on the horizon, one just needs to know. It makes him think of the days when the market was moving so well, he was surprisingly invested, and he promised her to leave it for a week, and forgetaboutit. He would ask other smucks at the cantina if they knew anything about the market. They would only state the obvious, that they were on vacation. He just whispered back that they must have promised the wife as well. “Yeah”, they would respond sheepishly.
For some reason the need to know has become a modern indicator of control in our lives. Even though the moment required more firewood, or a better drained tent site, one more fish to catch, or some other “real-time” skill or challenge to overcome, they chose rather to allow their minds to wander across the mountain range, the prairies, the cornfields, and then the suburban tapestry, to that ball diamond and the moving rotation of those nine on nine.
Huddled around the campfire now, feeling the air chill from lack of sun, they stopped talking and began staring at the little red box perched on the rock. “What did Harry say?” I don’t know, I cant’ hear it.” “Did they get the last out or not?” “ I think the batteries are dead.” Arrrggghhhh!
So they went the last two days without knowing about the game, and began knowing other things, perhaps more important, perhaps not.
