2004-10-08 - 8:57 a.m.
A Rock IS a Hard Place
Tuesday, Gunther, two of his dogs, and I climbed Flattop Mountain. It was amazing! The skies were clear and we had excellent views of Denali and other mountains, and of what I think are volcanoes.
Once we reached the top of the mountain, I was awed. It was nothing like being in seventh grade and climbing the slag piles in my neighborhood. Atop a mountain of slag, the best one got was maybe a good view into Becky Gamino’s house. And while, yes, perhaps maybe a glimpse of Becky in her underwear could be considered seventh-grade proof of the existence of some higher power, such a thing pales in comparison to the view from atop a real mountain.
I looked in every direction and saw the vast expanse of Alaska. Of space. Of time. I wanted to strip naked and ask Gunther to take a picture of me standing there au natural, in nature itself. Because I don’t know Gunther all that well, and I’d be staying at his place for the next two weeks, I decided against. Yes, he and Liz already saw me in my underwear, but having my tackle hanging out is a different story.
"You should have!" Liz said later when I told her. "He would have done it. You have nothing to be embarrassed about." This is the attitude of everyone I’ve met so far in Anchorage. They are all so laid back.
Seeing the rock formations and the rivers from the top of that mountain made me think of the struggle between man and nature. I’m convinced that nature can kick man’s ass. Sure we have weapons such as bombs and pollution. Nature has weapons of her own. Diseases, weather, earthquakes—man’s primitive weapons are no match for these. Nature has poisonous plants, sharp, craggy rocks, heatstroke, and frost bite. Weapons are of no use against such things.
I also thought about life on other planets. Can life exist on other planets? I’m sure it can. But not for fat, lazy, selfish, egocentric Americans, or, rather, any such person. Nature can fuck you up—doesn’t matter where you go or where you are. Like the song says, "The sweetest woman in the world, can be the meanest woman in the world—if you make her that way."
