Month: May 2021

My Marathon T-Shirts Quilt and Pillows

I am reminded of t-shirts daily as I drive through downtown Estes Park on my way to volunteer or hike. Estes Park is a scenic mountain gateway community next to a highly visited National Park. The town caters largely to families and outdoor enthusiasts. Living in a tourist town has some noteworthy characteristics and one is the abundance of t-shirt and taffy shops. I am not a fan of taffy, but I find t-shirts amusing as a means of communicating values, humor, and allegiances.

The first t-shirt I remember owning was one that said Iowa State University. I wore that t-shirt proudly as I knew early that I would go to college at Iowa State. The t-shirt was way oversized, and it drove my mother crazy to see me wearing it, but that perhaps made it all the more appealing when I was a teenager.

I venture to say that I have owned hundreds of t-shirts over the course of my life. As an avid runner, I received a t-shirt for every race, and I wore some of them proudly as part of my running history. I really can’t say that I had one favorite t-shirt, but I do recall wearing out a shirt that had a picture of a person and cat sitting together that said, “Life is good.”

What does one do, however, with scores of t-shirts that cannot possibly be worn out? I suspect I have given away over a dozen large garbage bags of t-shirts to thrift stores—many of them never having been worn. The other project with t-shirts, thanks to my talented quilting sister Suki, was to make a quilt with my marathon t-shirt decals and other special events associated with the Carolina Godiva Track Club. It is a colorful bedspread in my guest room.

Today I seldom get new t-shirts. I am not competing in races, and the last thing I would spend money on is a t-shirt. Sometimes I wonder who buys them, but people do, or they would not be for sale. One shop in Estes Park is called Rocky Mountain Tops and sells nothing but shirts. As I wander in downtown Estes Park, I see examples of what I could buy. Some shirts are clever, and some are a little weird. Here are a few of the ones I saw in shop windows in mid-May:

May the Forest Be with You

The Mountains are Calling and I Must Go

Run, Forest, Run (with a picture of various animals running down a road)

Nice Rack (two bull elk standing and looking at each other)

National Park Junkie

Bigfoot Doesn’t Believe in You Either

I Don’t Always Roll a Joint, but When I Do, It’s an Ankle (Colorado)

Hike and Seek

Be Wild and Wonder

Camping—It’s In-Tents

I have a love/hate relationship with t-shirts. They do bring good memories and I find humor in some shirts. Today I guess I can live with(out) them.  

When I was in junior high, I read that prisoners on death row got to choose their last meal. I never wanted to be in that situation, but I knew pizza was my meal choice. Many years later, I still think I would choose pizza. I enjoy pizza but am hard pressed to pick a favorite food. I savor many cuisines.

I am adventurous with food and have encountered few victuals that I don’t like, or that I cannot tolerate. I am not a fan of stewed tomatoes but otherwise I am always willing to sample different foods. I especially enjoy ethnic possibilities.

The highlights of my travel ventures have been sampling local foods. Some tourist destinations tend to cater to what tourists normally eat, but I am always interested in what the native people eat and in trying their traditional foods. Many dishes such as those one might get in China or Mexico have much different interpretations in the US and I prefer the foods from their countries of origin.

My explorations with food are tied to my mother’s interest in food. I grew up on an Iowa farm where the staple was meat and potatoes. That was what my dad wanted. However, my mom was eager to try new food experiences. As a 6^th grade teacher, she always had one day a year for a “food tasting party.” I think she knew back then that rural kids rarely were exposed to ethnic foods or anything out of the ordinary. I remember the foodstuffs at the party such as hominy, tacos, black-eyed peas, lamb chops, and grits.

In our farm vegetable garden, mom encouraged me to grow something new and different each year. I remember growing brussels sprouts, kale, and okra for the first time. The challenge after growing these items, however, was to figure out how to cook them!

We seldom went to restaurants when I was young since we had plenty of good food that was grown in the garden and on the farm. Whenever we did go out to eat, I always ordered shrimp because we obviously did not have those fish on the farm. Even today I find myself partial to fish when I go out to eat.

I used to cook and experiment with preparing different foods. In the past 10 years, however, my relationship with food has changed. I have a disability called anosmia, the inability to smell. I had a severe cold several years ago and evidently the virus attacked my olfactory nerve. I have had tests and tried therapies, but that nerve is yet to regenerate. I can taste on my tongue whether foods are sweet, sour, and salty but I cannot discern the flavors. I wish I did not have this problem, but it also has taught me to eat with my eyes and enjoy the textures of food in ways that I had not experienced before. I am hopeful that eventually I will be able to taste the subtleties of food again and feel confident cooking for others. If not, I have many great memories of food and still enjoy trying new gastronomies.

“Food Glorious Food” means something a little different to me than in the movie Oliver. Nevertheless, I am thankful to have abundant food in my life, to consume it with much gratitude, and to hope I have many more years before my last meal.

Elk Peacefully Grazing

I have a cat, Gitch, who is a talker. When I come home, he greets me at the door and begins. I imagine the conversation might be something like this:

“Mom. Mom. It was hekkin scary. I was peacefully sleeping and heard a roar outside. I investigated. It was a brown truck. I tried to rouse Mog to help me defend our house. She just snoozed. And then, and then, I heard footsteps. I peered out and saw a man in a brown uniform. I ducked down and then heard a thud. Mog kept sleeping. I hid and the truck went away.  I crept back to my bed and waited. I was worried, mom, but now you’re home.”

I talk to, with, about, and for animals every day. I anthropomorphize animals on a regular basis. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to animals as well as non-living things and phenomena. I imagine animals talk to me.

For example, as I wander and see birds and animals, I make up stories about what they are saying. As two geese flew overhead and honked at Lake Estes, I imagined perhaps the female is saying to her lifelong mate: “If we had gotten an earlier start, Harold, we wouldn’t have to be flying so fast. I thought we were going to stop back in the marsh. Where are we going?”

What I admire most about many animals, however, and the attribute I wish I had is the ability to stay in the moment. When I see deer or elk placidly grazing in a meadow, I wish I were them. They seem not to have a care in the world unless something startles them. They look patient and peaceful. Unlike me, I doubt they are thinking about regrets they have in their lives. I doubt they are worrying about what is going to happen tomorrow. They are not anxious about impending danger until it is obviously upon them.

I wish I could better live in the moment. I would like to be able to react when there is a present problem but not worry about a future that has yet to unfold. Nevertheless, Charles Darwin suggested that “There is no fundamental difference between man [people] and animals in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery.” People can learn from the shared similarities.

Nicole Brownfield (https://www.society19.com/uk/qualities-of-animals-that-humans-should-consider; July 27, 2018) wrote a short article giving examples of what humans could learn from animals. For example, elephants show empathy by caressing distressed members gently with their trunks. Lions appear to be fearless animals and the most relentless of fighters in the face of life challenges. Many animals are playful and fun-loving creatures such as otters and penguins. I also love the generosity of penguins when they offer rock gifts as part of their courting ritual. I admire wolves who are both loyal to their mates and packs. Each wolf has a duty to protect every member of the pack.

I believe that animals can see into human souls. When I look into my cats’ eyes, I believe they are entering into my core. They are assessing the person I am. I hope they see my goodwill for them. Animals, both domestic and wild, teach me lessons about living every day and I make no apologies for anthropomorphizing them.

“What’s your favorite hike?” I am frequently asked this question when volunteering at Rocky Mountain National Park. I have come up with a response that initially works:

“It’s the hike I’m on that day.”

People seem to chuckle at that response. However, I am often pressed a bit more. I respond with questions like, “What do you want to see (lakes, wooded trails, being on top of a mountain?” “How far do you want to go?” “How fit would you say you and your companions are?” And in the wintertime, “What kind of footwear do you have (good hiking boots, traction devices like microspikes, snowshoes)?” Sometimes I ask if they have been in the mountains for a day or two or are coming from sea level.

Although hiking is an easy activity to do, making decisions about what trails to use is not that simple if one is to have a good experience and not disrupt the ecology of the park.

I am passionate about hiking. I have the privilege of getting out into the natural world almost every day. At the least, I take a walk around Lake Estes. I differentiate between hiking and walking based on whether I am on unpaved or paved trail, respectively.

As much as I love my own hiking experiences and want others to have safe and awe-inspiring opportunities, I am becoming increasingly troubled by the degradation that is occurring on my favorite trails, which is most of them. Many outdoor spaces and parks (and especially trails) are being loved to death. The increased numbers of people visiting outdoor areas as well as the quantity of trail apps available have contributed to hiking popularity and the concomitant overuse of trails. It does not have to be a problem, however, if we all appreciated that with the right to hike comes a commitment to recreate responsibly.

Native American Chief Seattle is credited with the notion frequently expressed, “Take only photos, leave only footprints.” Some people have substituted memories for photos and I like that idea. However, I am concerned about the suggestion to leave footprints. On some of the trails in the park people have disregarded staying on the trails and have widened them by walking off trail to avoid a little mud. Getting your boots dirty is part of the experience!

I am especially angered by those people who feel it is no problem to shortcut the trails. Many of the trails in Rocky that go up steeply have been constructed purposely with switchbacks to make it easier to walk, albeit a bit longer. It breaks my heart to see people coming straight down (the trails on Deer Mountain are a classic example) leaving all kinds of footprints and impending erosion of the mountainside.

I like to wander off trail in some parts of the park. But going off-trail does not mean creating a new trail or following directly behind someone else’s footsteps. Minimum impact involves leaving as little evidence, including any footprints, as possible. Tread lightly and responsibly. It results in leaving no trace.

I do not want to deny anyone from enjoying the outdoors, but more awareness and education can occur so that with the right and privilege to hike, people will recreate responsibly on trails or anywhere else they go in the outdoors.