Saturday, March 14, 2009
marked the 7,300th day since
Edward Paul Abbey
died.
marked the 7,300th day since
Edward Paul Abbey
died.
"Do not burn yourself out. Be as I am-a reluctant enthusiast... a part time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it is still there. So get out there and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to your body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards." ---E.P.A.
For the uninitiated, let me fill you in on old Ed. Ed is the author of many books, essays, letters, and even some poems. He is often credited with being the founder, impetus, instigator, and/or creator of the environmental activist movement known as Earth First.
Some works from the "Thoreau of the West":
The Monkey Wrench Gang
The Fool's Progress
Desert Solitaire
The Brave Cowboy
Fire on the Mountain
Hayduke Lives
The Pennsylvania native spent the majority of his life in the southwest, particularly the magical four corners area, and ultimately passing near Oracle, Arizona.
The bearded bard of the wilderness was beyond "rough" around the edges, offensive some would even say. However, he loved the wilderness, and he eloquently and coarsely described it for us in hopes of getting us even a little piqued about caring for it.
He was illegally buried (and I am certain with a salty grin on his face) somewhere in the desert amongst the sand, saguaros, and rocks.
So, get outside...take your T.V. with you and shoot it. Pick up a book. Hike a trail. Pick up some trash. Listen to a river. Watch a wave peel. Teach your kid about a raptor. Get your hands dirty. Stop just thinking about Earth's peril. Stop being lazy. Remember you are part of the food chain too. Dream. Run aimlessly through a woods. Jump across a creek. Jump off a rock. Feel bark. Smell the pine. Be amazed by the full moon peeking over the rim. Stop existing and start living.
To find a link to hear Ed read and listen to an annual memorial show about EPA, visit Patagonia's blog The Cleanest Line and click on the Risky Biscuit Hayseed Hoot section of the entry.
"Feet on earth, knock on wood, touch stone, good luck to all."
---Edward Paul Abbey / 1927-1989
Look, listen, feel,
Ostrich
