I was just thinking... that about 6:30 this evening, I might mosey on down to the top of those solstice steps on the lake with the old banjo, and watch the sun go down; keeping in mind that, at the same time, the sun will already be coming up tomorrow in another part of the world.
Waxing philosophical, I suppose that time is like that...at once, a constant and a relative phenomenon.
I guess it's probably Einstein's relativity thing, you know....like walking from the back of a bus to the front, while its travelling down the highway...Are you walking at 5 mph, or at 5 mph, plus the speed of the bus?
Or, if you walk to the back of the bus while it's going forward, are you starting to walk back in time?
The older I get, the faster this time thing seems to go forward, but maybe that's all relative too...
Anyway...
People have been meeting on that cliff side for thousands of years now. Ancient Hopewell, and Adena cultures gathered here, soon to be followed by the Erie, Huron, and Seneca peoples.
Our infinitely precious great lake equally insured that the presence of fresh water, wild game, and yes, especially human conflict, would perpetually visit that cliff side.
Over time, the Euro-settlers came and drove away the native peoples, even as they quarreled amongst themselves for "land" and "power"; concepts utterly foreign to those original inhabitants.
During the Civil War, that cliff side was the very last station of the Underground Railroad. Caves once existed along those cliffs, where escaped slaves anxiously waited for the boats that would take them to Canada, and freedom.
That cliff side is where I plan to be waiting tonight for a little while, to celebrate another sort of freedom.
Not victory, necessarily.... just freedom.
When you think about it, even the word "victory" is a relative thing, because when one achieves "victory" over someone else, the other side just doubles down so they can win the next time, and of course, the cycle perpetuates itself, again and again and again.
When are we ever going to learn that "win-win" trumps hubris and "victory" every time? But I digress...
I plan to simply celebrate freedom.
The freedom of a people to self-determine their own future. The freedom of a people who have freely entered into this association that, today, we call "Lakewood".
The freedom of a people who were able to engage in debate, discussion, and decision-making without physical violence.
The freedom of a people who have now become a historic part of the kaleidoscopic mandala of that cliff side.
Perhaps I'll see you down there this evening...
Back to the banjo...
(Photo courtesy Dr. Thomas Leatherman)