Being an accepting pioneer.
July 24th 2016
Yes, as this weekend comes and goes,
there are many outside of the state I reside in and most of those in the state
that in some fashion or another celebrate the history of a pioneering people.
Some in the world have no idea what this is all about, but let me dip into it
just the same. First you must ask the question: what is a pioneer? Simply, it
is someone that goes forth in a quest to travel, explore, or discover the
unknowing and new. I think of the masses of people that ventured from far
places, crossing oceans and land to find a new life. I remember a few years
back going with a group of others, mostly youth, to do a trek reenactment. Before
going, I read a book, Fire and the
Covenant, about a group from the 1800’s that suffered a great fate while
traveling across the territory we know now as Wyoming with handcarts. I might
add that since then I have read a lot of other books that include pioneers of
one sort or another. I’m kind of a history nut. I kind of have a family connection
to the handcart group, so it grabbed me a bit. Not every group that traveled across
the world had ill-fated circumstances but they all had some forms of challenges,
whether that was: missing animals needed to survive, broken wagons/handcarts
and other equipment, sickness and death of some, or lack of needed food. Many
left their lives of wealth, and others not so much. They went with only the
things they could carry, push, pull, or pack in a space no bigger than a backpack.
Now days, many of us find it hard to find a way to up root and move with
multiple big trucks and a few cars. Whatever the reason that stirred in these
people to do this, it had to be strong. I stand in awe of what they did. They
were welcomed in by some accepting pioneers who had little to give but a warm
hand shake and a seat by the fire. These people crossed every culture and
station of life, and young and old alike.
So let me jump a bit to a group of
pioneers I call “rock solid type”. A few years back, I spent some time in an
area by Escalante Utah. Those of you that know this area know the “Hole in the
rock road”. You can Google this to get an idea as to the pure rough nature of
the area. At the time that these pioneers ventured out to this area, it was
untouched by the wheels of a wagon. These people had settled in different
places in the territory, after crossing plains, mountains, and rivers, only to
up root and venture out some more. Now day the road leaves many a person seat-sore,
to put it nicely. Some of the descriptions from those that traveled it called
it a road that would have put the fear of God in the Devil himself. I have
walked down some of the steep cuts in the canyons and edges. And yes, they are
just that rough. The pioneers had to have some “rock solid stuff” to go out on
another adventure after maybe just getting rested up from the last one. There
had to be even more driving them than a new land to live in. The road/trail they
carved took a few years, and it is miraculous that not more than a few
ill-fated events happened to them.
There are people in our day and
time that have a lot of “rock solid stuff.” We have friends, family, and people
we meet in this adventure called life. After a spell of years in one part of
the state, we pulled up roots about a year ago and moved on north, leaving
behind memories made with a bunch of “rock solid” peeps. We have crossed the
trail with many good peeps here and have had some welcoming pioneers accept us
for the peeps we are. We hopped between a few different church groups in the
past year. In one of those groups, there was an accepting clergyman and his
helpers that, in spite of the raw and rough look of myself, were and have been
great (more rock solid peeps). Those helpers at the door of a new congregation with a friendly smile, a hand shake and a welcoming word. This brings to mind the story of our nick name.
At a church gathering we met many peeps, but we happen to sit with a younger
couple and a lady who was slightly older than us. We introduced ourselves and
they joked about us being “Bonnie and Clyde”. The name kind of took. We were
new and they were trying to be more active in the church. We all became new accepting
pioneer friends. We have come across many others as we hopped around the area. Some
are accepting of the rough-looking, old feller next door or across the street.
The old, crazy soul willing to help a youth program get up off the ground.
Whatever it may be, we need to be accepting pioneers in our life; whether that
is the person that sits by us in the dentist waiting room, the store checkout
line, or the bench in church. Maybe even being the new person on the block is a
pioneering adventure of teaching others to also be accepting of change.
May we remember the past and work
harder to be as some “Rock solid” accepting pioneers of history and be ever
more accepting of each other.
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