Entering the Fray

There are two types of stories - man leaves town and man comes to town. I have successfully accomplished both in the last few months. The frontier spirit, alive and well, in Prescott, Arizona has treated me well. It is a place where the tourist runs thick - unbridled and carefree - the way the West was truly won (or at least adapted). Here the goal is to explore (and work to support the exploration) the lonely places not seen by the average citizen. I have always been fascinated with the back alleys and dusty towns of our American Landscape; the places where nowhere is everywhere. The goal is to record the musings of travel; from the extreme to the mundane, anything new offers at least a modicum of interest. I even intend on expanding into the travel of the mind - the reviews, raves, and rants of books, movies, and media that I feel requires some (if not yet another) expression. It is with this discourse that I begin.

In 2006, Cormac McCarthy penned The Road, adding yet another compelling narrative to his litany (in my opinion a guru of the Neo-Noir Western ). The story of "man leaves town" follows a father and son in a post-apocalyptic America annihilated by the fire and brimstone so popular with Southern Baptists, burned-over districts, and country-road-tent-revivalists. Save some basic supplies, a six shooter, and a shopping cart, the boy and the man are without much of the comforts enjoyed by the sedentary, developed societies of today. In the eerie world following an unknown catastrophe the two protagonists follow an old byway/ highway heading south towards a coastal environ and, hopefully, salvation and society. Along the way, faced with starvation, the elements, road warriors, and human harvesters (apparently Soylent Green really are people) the father and son struggle to find not only goodness in the world but goodness in each other. The ending, wrapped with both tragedy and hope, sheds light onto the special bond between father and son.

This book was recommended to me by a friend from graduate school. For those familiar with lost and the battle of grief that ensues, McCarthy's somber world provides fertile ground to realize how much dear ones will be missed after they have passed. By creating a stark environment - where little life exists and humanity is an afterthought - the reader is able to internalize the relationship between the boy and the father without the distractions of what we deem as "everyday life." Truly for those that have a close bond with another, this book hits home; however it does not have to be for those dealing with loss, it can also be a good step forward to recognizing the relationships we have while those close to us are still of this earth. I encourage many, if not all, to pick up this book, rattle out some espresso, and dive into a frightening, yet optimistic, story.