posted by nathan at 9:21 AMJuly 8th, 2009

Beauty

It's been a long time since my last visit to Colorado.... could it have been when I was a kid? Yes, most likely... So, traveling yesterday was as enjoyable as usual. The smell of the airplane seats brought back many memories ranging from boredom to rage. I love being greeted by security in my home town because they know me and ask where I'm traveling to this time. Yesterday, one of the security personnel commented on the attractiveness of my new look (the driver's license picture was taken during a time when I was doing a show with long hair and a beard) and how it's "too bad that I'm the age of her son".... hmmmm. Then, of course, they check all my stuff to make sure I'm not going to blow up the plane. It's a wacky world.
Anyway, what I'm getting at is that when I landed (finally) in Aspen I was firmly in my travel mode. My head was down; I was into my book (Age of Innocence... amazing, btw), and my physical senses were on low. But, as I stepped off the plane ... no, as we were coming in for the landing, I was dumb struck by the beauty of this country. I could describe the variations of color, the undulating of the terrain that strikes towards the sky with an intrepidity that only mother earth would dare, the deep scars in her flesh and the amazing, fecund smell that overwhelmed me when I stepped off the plane, but it wouldn't do it justice.
This is a beauty without subtlety and without shame.