March Goodness
(Sent on April 2, 2023)
Yet at this point it becomes quite clear that only an act of liberation, not instruction, can overcome stupidity."
~Deitrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison~
Happy March and happy Palm Sunday,
Meghan, Jack, and I just got back from another failed attempt at Garnet Mountain. A little over a year ago, when we were living in Idaho Falls and visiting Bozeman, we ate a giant breakfast at a place called Jam!, consisting of stuffed crepes followed by a fried chicken biscuits and gravy eggs benedict, just before the hike. We got a few miles in and decided we were just too miserable to keep going. We now know that the only thing to do after a no-brakes breakfast at Jam! is to take a nap.
This time around, we were wiser about our breakfast choices—but not about our gear. We got our trails (and trail lengths) mixed up, and decided (foolishly) to leave the snow shoes in the car. If I had a dollar for every time I've sworn I would never leave the snowshoes behind again . . . well, I would be at least $12 richer. Needless to say, it was a mistake. We've been in much worse situations, and several years ago it probably wouldn't have stopped us, but today I was happier turning around. And we made it approximately 150 feet farther than we did last year. The plan is to head back again on Saturday—and, so help me God, I will have those snowshoes!
We had a little time off at the beginning of the month. And since we did come out here specifically for the skiing, we spent a week at a couple of our favorite spots, Grand Targhee and Teton Village. Since then, we've done a couple days at Big Sky, and one glorious powder day at Bridger Bowl last weekend—the deepest, fluffiest, giggle-your-ass-off fun I've ever had on skis. That seemed like a good way to end the ski season for us, so I think this weekend officially marked the transition to hiking.
It feels like we've been in Montana much longer than we have, but March has mostly been a month of settling in: to the city, to our jobs, to new routines. We'll be moving to another rental in a couple weeks, one that should work better in every way. Our current rental is quaint enough, but it's a little like an upstairs dungeon. That's Jack's opinion, anyway. He has requested a place with more access to daytime television—i.e., more windows, of which he has had basically none and about which he has made his displeasure known. The move should also solve the mailing address problem for us, so stay tuned for that.
Back in March 2022, Miroslav Volf interviewed a former student of his and a Ukrainian pastor named Fyodor Raychynets. It was called "A Voice from Kiev". A couple weeks ago, Volf had another conversation with Raychynets: "Resist Evil, Be Present, and Remember How Little You Control. If you haven't listened to them, they are worth your time.
I'm still trying to write a bit when I can. Here are a few things I've tried to put to words since I got here:
- The hunt for a quote from Charles Taylor turned into a reread and a reflection on his Ethics of Authenticity.
- I wrote about reading a poem from Wisława Szymborska on a flight back from Ukraine.
- Diana Butler Bass's lenten theme of "empty altars" sparked a little reflection on the search for saints.
- I had a thought on what was missing from Jonathan Raban's Bad Land.
- I could, and sometimes do, call myself a liberal-conservative-socialist-anarchist. I'd like at some point to spend some time explaining each of them. This is one reason why I would call myself a liberal.
- I haven't been sure about the two-blogs thing, but here's an explanation for why I'll probably keep both for now, and why I think it's a good way to be online.
That's all for March. Due to some unforeseen prior engagements, we will now likely be spending the summer out this way before heading back to New England. So, if you find yourself wanting to visit western Montana, let me know!
I've been reading a lot of poetry lately, so I'll just end with one of my favorites below. I hope you're all doing well and look forward to hearing from you.
Donny
From A.R. Ammons:
THE CITY LIMITS
When you consider the radiance, that it does not withhold itself but pours its abundance without selection into every nook and cranny not overhung or hidden; when you consider
that birds' bones make no awful noise against the light but lie low in the light as in a high testimony; when you consider the radiance, that it will look into the guiltiest
swervings of the weaving heart and bear itself upon them, not flinching into disguise or darkening; when you consider the abundance of such resource as illuminates the glow-blue
bodies and gold-skeined wings of flies swarming the dumped guts of a natural slaughter or the coil of shit and in no way winces from its storms of generosity; when you consider
that air or vacuum, snow or shale, squid or wolf, rose or lichen, each is accepted into as much light as it will take, then the heart moves roomier, the man stands and looks about, the
leaf does not increase itself above the grass, and the dark work of the deepest cells is of a tune with May bushes and fear lit by the breadth of such calmly turns to praise.
Thanks for reading! For more commonplace stuff, you can go to tinyroofnail.micro.blog. Or you can email me at tinyroofnail@hey.com. Or you can just wait for next month's newsletter.