our lovely mountain view: September 2004
I shared this story on my old blog, so long-time readers can skip this part. It is such a lovely story though, that I can't resist posting it anew.
The Lummi, who live near the Canadian border, cast Rainer as the jealous wife of Mount Baker. Rainer was the favorite of Baker’s two wives, but she had an awful temper. After a while the younger wife, Mount Shuksan, with her kind disposition, became the shine of Baker’s eye. Furious, Rainer threatened to leave unless Baker showed her more attention. When Baker ignored her, she made good her threat and traveled south, alone and slow. After a distance she looked back,expecting Baker to call her home. He did not. A little farther, she looked again. Still nothing. With a heavy heart she continued on and camped for the night on the highest hill in the land. She stretched and stretched to see Baker and her children, until she stood higher than all the mountains around. But Baker did not call her home. “Often on a clear day or clear night,” says the narrator, “the mountain dresses in sparkling white and looks with longing at Baker and the mountain children near him” (p. 22-23).
Barcott, Bruce. The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount RainierSeattle: Sasquatch Books, 1997.
My Dad loves our mountain view and it is so especially pretty this time of year; it saddens me that he won't get to come see it for a long time. I ran across this verse on another blog the other day and the bit about mountains falling into the heart of the sea really got me.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. ~Psalm 46: 1-2
That's how I feel: my Dad-Mountain fell into the heart of the Invalid Sea. I still don't really believe it.
:: this post was included in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books 5.26.2007
paraplegia
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