Py -
What would you have expected from a carpenter's son? Wonderful story!! It
reminds me a bit of Tom Robbins "Another Roadside Attraction", only your
visitor was breathing.
- Pam
----- Original Message -----
From: "Becker, Dan" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 09:51
Subject: [BP] FW: The True Cross
> Forwarded for Py: the listserv robot is choking on the length of this
> one, so the usual Py disclaimers apply...print out, read at your
> leisure, etc., etc.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 9:43 AM
> To: Becker, Dan
> Subject: Re: Problem processing mail file from [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> La croix Vrai
>
> (the true cross )
> The True Cross
>
> The Natchez trace is as old as time. Once a migratory path for the
> Mastodon and the three toed sloth . this Trans regional highway is now
> circuitous route for sportsmen , tourists, and pilgrims of the faith
> who believe that there are roads for nature just as there are for
> commerce and progress . .
>
> This road is completely without the signage and the trappings of
> civilization ;.
> and that is precisely why I prefer to travel it every chance I get .
> Once upon it , I can set my car on cruise control to the obligatory 50
> mph or less , tune in some Delta blues and watch the world go by in
> the bucolic scenery of the forest and hill country of rural
> Mississippi. .
> Here there is no stop and go traffic.
> No lights, no clover leafs ,no commercial trucks , fast food signs
> or gas stops . In fact there is hardly any signs telling you where you
> are and that is just perfect for my wanderlust .,., .
> No ,here only slowpokes are allowed and the only tailgating to be
> found are the deer and wild turkey that feed by the road side...
> .
>
> This famous route flows through the entire length of the state and
> harbors a safe zone for all wildlife not to mention bicyclists who
> migrate here from all over the globe to enjoy the freedom ,and beauty
> of its open road
> They like the hikers and horsemen that join them share in the value of
> such park like passage as a national treasure, a heritage if you will,
> given to them from a generation now long past who manifested the
> rights of this road during the depths of the depression as something
> else they could show the world besides a medieval reputation over race
> and religion . .
>
> In prehistoric times it was an migratory animal trail, followed by the
> aboriginals and later the fur traders that dealt in the commerce of the
> woodland culture that made their home here .
> .A national path from the Carolinas to Natchez where once you arrived
> , it became a somewhat easy float down the Mississippi to New Orleans
> and the shores of the Gulf . . . A route infamous for pirates and
> brigands ,horse thieves and gypsy merchants of every race and color
> who followed the migratory path of the frontiersmen then traders then
> settlers; stopping off at watering holes and trade posts with names
> like Pigeons roost , Monroe Mission ,Witches Dance, French Camp and
> Emerald mound .
> Few roads from early America exist such as this one .
> One with a history of stories worthy of telling and retelling about
> the expansion of what was then the west and the migration of newly
> arrived peoples to what was then known as the Louisiana Purchase . .
>
> It seems like every time I travel the Trace I experience something
> new
> . Once there was a bicycle rider atop an 1890's big wheel, little wheel
> bike, that took a step ladder to get on board . He managed 20 miles a
> day and his only real challenge was getting down from it .
> Another vehicle I recall was a home made Stanley steamer rolling
> along at a record breaking 35 mph puffing away with the pedal to the
> metal. Then there was the time I saw a hybrid solar car. This
> contraption of plastic and bailing wire hummed along with its driver at
> a whopping 48 mph.(on a sunny day that is)
>
> The Natchez Trace seems to be a magnet for the unusual and that is
> because it is the most protected ,safe, unencumbered road I know to
> try out any mode of transportation (including two feet ) that doesn't
> ex cell 50 mph.. .
>
> Here one can always expect the unexpected ,. and so I was not
> disappointed when over the memorial day I passed a man in white
> robes wearing a crown of thorns navigating a huge cross upon his
> shoulder, and making his way down the bike path of the highway.
>
> " Woa" am I seeing this ?
> Since there are many who profess to be cross bearers in this life , I
> will cut to the quick and say this is the first time I have actually
> ever saw one let alone meet one and thinking it might be my only
> chance at real salvation, I asked myself "Why not" , take a chance,
> ....stop and offer what assistance I could.; after all aren't we all
> pilgrims on the path ?
>
> Well more on that later .
> The fact is normally I do not stop for strangers.
> But since he was such a familiar figure in the historic sence , I
> decided in good faith that the value of being a good Samaritan might
> resonate with him and well you know after all if I can't score with
> him with acts of kindness who can I score with .
> I had to take a chance , Besides my attendance record for Sunday
> services has been spotty , and I have been having a lot of indecent
> sexual thoughts over a Playboy I keep in the small room so if ever
> there was a chance to make amends then this was it .
>
> "Strike while the iron is hot" my teacher always said , or was that my
> girlfriend ? Hmmm....Never mind
>
> I nudged my wagon off to the side of the road and waited for my
> cross-bearer to catch up . This gave me time to think about what I'm
> actually doing . Lone men wearing robes and thorns in the forest can be
> trouble so I checked to see if the Billy club was still under the front
> seat .. It was .
>
> Comforted that we were at least on equal terms as far as life on the
> physical was concerned ,
> I then began thinking of what I might say to him once he arrived . ..
> "Hey bub need a lift ? "just wasn't going to make it Besides what if he
> was for real? Stranger things have happened here on the Trace ..
>
> I mean here I am in the middle of no where , Big Foot country surrounded
> by a sundry population who believe in walk ins and UFOs speaking in
> country accents,eating grits ,collards and corn bread and waiting for
> HIM all the time , and ...well ....here He is ,
> The very thought that it might be HIM was a distinct possibility
> And who could say for sure?
>
> So I began searching my brain for appropriate greetings . First that
> came to mind was something confessional.... "Forgive me father ,for I
> have sinned " but I canned that because I didn't want to show all my
> cards at once .
>
> Then came a little something more gentle from the Beatitudes ....
> "Blessed are the Greeks , for they shall"...
> ..no...no you Bozo that wasn't it either ....
> Why is it when you meet famous people you can never think of something
> to say ?.... . "Counselor , forgive me .. I err ...rest my case"
> I was still fishing around for a proper greeting when he arrived
> bearing his cross and perspiring in the noon day heat .
> His cross looked like a lot to bear ,
> I had seen something similar to it at the San Gernarno festival in
> little Italy NYC on the saints feast day but that one had a lot of
> dollars pinned to it and it was carried by 8 gorillas in tuxedos.
> No this one was bigger but there was something different about it .
>
> "Thanks for stopping brother" ,he said almost bashfully handing me a
> small pamphlet while catching his breath .
> I felt as if I had been given one of those pamphlets you get outside the
> subway , only instead of saying Vote Today or eat here in Chinese it
> was an advertisement of his church asking me if Id been Saved , with
> his preachers phone number hand written in the page corner as the
> old one that was printed wasn't any good..
>
> Dumbstruck I perused the information as if it were the spread sheet
> sad for the 5th race .
> I was sad yet somewhat relieved I had met Santa's helper rather than
> Santa himself .
> You know that feeling when you go into meetings unprepared . I mean
> this might be the biggest client of your whole career, the guy who is
> going to carry you over for an eternity . The golden parachute and your
> going to blow it not being prepared? Not so fast Buster I thought to
> myself . I gotta do my homework;. I want to be sure I know all the
> genuflections , creeds and buzz words not seen the Mel Gibson movie.
> I wanna know for sure .
>
> Admittedly I am petrified of being blessed ,saved ,and healed all at
> once.
> Its like signing up for the six pack abs at the training Gym , you
> gotta die to get there.. Besides being saved I wouldn't recognize
> myself, and nobody in my old neighborhood would know me ..
> Not sure of anything I blurted out the first thing that came to
> mind..
>
> "Nice thorns ".... I said breaking the ice and admiring the cheap,
> plastic rubber tipped wreath that encased his head . "Oh yeah " he
> commented removing them from his brow and wiping off the sweat with the
> cuff of his robe .
>
> Since the thorns were the kind suitable for traveling I guess he
> brushed off the compliment off like it was no big thing.
> But more than that , his movement of the robe afforded me the odd
> chance to peek inside his robe which revealed not the saintly
> stigmata I had hoped for but a pair of very skinny pale white legs
> held up by a pair of bright Bermuda shorts topped by a immigrant tee
> shirt with Nascar logos .
>
> I have seen a lot in this world . People and places that make the mid
> east look like a resort area.,but this was one of those times I had to
> pinch myself . The shorts of course did nothing for his persona , or
> my impression of him ,but at least I could tell he wasn't armed, so at
> least that hurdle was over .
>
> His sandals are what got me , They were impressive.
> . No wandering in the desert on hush puppy's for this disciple ,
> What adorned those unwashed feet were a pair of high tech
> Birkenstocks capable of the Shell torture test from Morocco to Dakar.
> .
> "Been traveling far ? " I asked... eyeing the sandals as if they were
> spinner hubs
> . .
> "Oh about 4 days " He responded politely trying to shift gears to my
> salvation . .
>
> I wasn't giving up easy,, playing 3 card monte on the streets of New
> York can fend off the best of them
>
> "4 days ? Where do you sleep " I asked hiding the queen again from his
> agenda.
>
> His eyes brightened ...and with that he got excited
> Without saying a word he whirled his huge cross effortlessly from the
> padded shoulder harness to a standing position by the roadside . And as
> a pair of lazy hawks circled overhead ,he spun the cross like it was a
> base fiddle for Duke Ellington during the finale of "Taking the A train
> ".
>
> The cross spun , and as it did so he began opening a series of
> hidden panel doors revealing a design so compartmentalized that it was
> scarcely hard to believe .
> Inside the stations of the cross he had fabricated a series of storage
> compartments worthy of an east German spy.
> . It revealed a pantry of goods and survival gear to keep him dry and
> fed for a month .. No rabbits out of a hat ,no ladies sawn in half .Just
> expert workmanship .
>
> The cross itself was a marvel in camouflage . Constructed of fire
> rated Styrofoam flashing that was laminated one upon the other by high
> strength glues . It appeared as solid wood ,yet inside lay a ca she of
> M- Rations ,sterno cans ,underwear ,tee shirts , to one side while
> another held a tarp , tent poles, and mosquito netting while still
> another held the water and cold drinks with a little side pockets for a
> Walkman and c ds of ZZ top and Charlie Daniels and a pull of tobacco..
> .
> Not since the six days has there ever been such a creation
> Like a quiz master he move through each of the doors enticing me
> the contestant with some other clever device he had fabricated for
> his journey .
>
> "Wow " I uttered in disbelief
> "You made all that"
> The comfort bar in a Holiday Inn express could not have done better
> ..
> the faux bois (false wood ) was perfect.. The whole base was supported
> on high grade swivel wheels made of hard rubber .
> The ball bearings allowed for the spin of the cross .
>
> "Yas suh " he responded with pride "
> "It took some doing , altogether on and off about a month" he said
> opening and closing all the cabinets .reveling other little cubby holes
> for toilet paper toothbrush, mouth wash, pen and paper and of course
> the Good Book with all his pamphlets and phone numbers so organized and
> accounted for that one would think he was running numbers for Charlie
> Lucky . . . I was impressed.. ; I felt he was a gifted craftsman and
> that we finally had something besides the inevitable to talk about .
> I offered him a ride to the next stop which was about an hour of
> getting to know one another
>
> So we loaded him up with the cross sticking half out the window and
> proceeded down the highway engaging in animated talk about who was
> saved and who wasn't ..
> He wearing his crown and the both of us listening to Robert Johnson
> banging back a couple of cold Yoo Hoos from what was for me , dare I
> say it? ....the True Cross . Py
>
>
>
>
> “E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties by
an authorized City or Law Enforcement official.”
>
> --
> To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
> uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
> <http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>
>
--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>
|