Easter Musing

On Fort Apache Indian Reservation, in Arizona, there is an old pueblo ruin called, "Kinishba", aka "Dull brown house in the middle of nowhere". 

On a hill overlooking Kinishba, there is an older ruin where I enjoyed sitting to listen to the wind whispering among the pine trees as I photographed fauna going about their daily routine.

One morning, I was watching snow fall and melt on the ancient paths below, when I suddenly realised that -although water is heavy, and easily spilt - there was not one single path leading directly from the ruin to the spring at Kinishba! 

Everyone knows the proverbial "straight and narrow" is the shortest distance between two points, yet every path to the spring had twists and turns for which there was no obvious reason!

One might imagine there may have been a long-gone tree, bush, rock, shrine, or some other superstition to account for those deviations but, whatever the reasons may have been, the snow made it crystal clear that people will ignore the easy straight and narrow to follow the long and winding path of their ancestors for no logical reason whatsoever, century after century after century. 

Good luck to you!
Copyright © | Year Posted 2022

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George Avatar
April 17, 2022 at 7:14 PM
Without analyzing the logicality of things, we follow suit of those gone ahead ! An interesting thought to ponder over!
Leffanta Avatar
April 18, 2022 at 11:14 AM
Elders always say they know best, don't they? Aloha!
Anaya Avatar
April 17, 2022 at 7:04 PM
I resided in Tucson 'bout three yrs. sorry to have missed these beautiful ruins. The pueblo was vacated in the late 14th-early 15th centuries for unknown reasons! Did you do the trail? Nice Travel Log
Leffanta Avatar
April 18, 2022 at 11:13 AM
One look is all one needs to see that they chopped down all the nearby trees for firewood, and it gets bloody cold at night there! During monsoon, it becomes a world of mud, so carting wood would be a real challenge. Aloha!
Rose  Avatar
April 17, 2022 at 6:26 PM
lol we tend to do that follow one another, force of habit or synergy, lol, Happy Easter dear Rico :)
Leffanta Avatar
April 18, 2022 at 11:10 AM
or "sharing the blame"? Aloha!
Bauer Avatar
April 17, 2022 at 12:59 PM
ha! i can relate to this, rico! i follow a lot of the traditions i grew up with for no obvious reason except that they remind me of my youth and connect me to my ancestors. each generation seems to let go of more and more of these traditions, perhaps because there is no logical reason to follow them...
Leffanta Avatar
April 17, 2022 at 3:52 PM
On my first visit to Castello, on Isola del Giglio, Italy, I could not wrap my mind around how the young people could look down at the beach and not want to go for a swim, yet they continued to live their lives within the castle walls just like their ancestors. Did Costa Concordia change their perception? Aloha!
Sangster - K Avatar
April 17, 2022 at 12:26 PM
Sounds like a lovely, peaceful spot Rico. I enjoyed reading your Easter Musing. Had a chuckle at people ignoring the easy straight and narrow. Perhaps they enjoy walking the long and winding path of their ancestors. Who knows? Lol :-D Cheers Anne :-)
Leffanta Avatar
April 17, 2022 at 3:47 PM
It is a wonderful place where, if your 4x4 sinks in the mud, you can be absolutely certain no one will come to your rescue!
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