manifesto monday: mosey

my grandpa newell loves to be out in the countryside and out in the mountains--he should. because he grew up a farm boy in idaho. he passed on his love of the outdoors to most of his grandkids (a handfull think that being outside in the mountains is "dirty"). grandpa used to take the older kids on campouts to places in southern utah. i was usually too little (at least that's what i am assuming...i really don't know why i didn't go on those campouts). but my turn did eventually come. it finally came about six years ago. down to capitol reef national park.
grandpa told us of pioneers hiding out in the red sandstone, and of trying to farm in a desert land. he told us of how he stopped once to help a farmer mend his fence. he told us who owned every piece of land and how they had come to own it. you could point anywhere, and he'd tell you its story. we listened.
we've also taken grandpa on small hikes up through catherine's pass. he knows the stories of that area too. but usually he tells us of life growing up on a farm in the west. he tells us that, as a young boy, he could barely steer the horses as he tried to plow the fields. he tells us of how his father brought water to sage-brush dirt. he tells us of brutal winters and scorching summers. we listen.
we listen because we move slowly on our hikes. grandpa says that he likes to mosey. and so do i. i like to know about a place, rather than hurry through it. i like to hear the people i'm with tell me about their history and their hearts. no need to get to a panting point. i enjoy the outdoors at a mosey-pace...and i'm glad cj does too. this is when the good conversations happen. this is when the good silences happen. to mosey is to listen, then to know. this i believe.

photo by me. catherine's pass august 2009.