Monday, August 28, 2006Burning Woman, Pt IIAs I write this I am in central Oregon, surrounded by fires.We are in no danger. And this is all perfectly normal for people who actually live with fewer buffers between them and the natural world. But once again I'm being bombarded with this theme of burning. There is the "Cascade complex" of fires to our east. And just now, as Jack and I were driving back from Salem to pick up Chris and our friend Dee as they ended today's river rafting trip, we headed right into the eye of huge plumes of smoke. They seemed to emanate directly from the river where two of my three favorite people in the world were racing rapids in a yellow inflatable boat. It was not a great feeling. I really had a moment of wondering if this time I'd pushed the odds too far. What was I thinking, letting them go? And how had this fire erupted into such an overpowering size in the two hours since we last saw them set off? It turns out it was a controlled burn. Agricultural fields. Intentional and useful. I can't even start with the metaphors of yesterday's river rafting. I mean, duh. I've already clobbered the river metaphor to within an inch of its life in the intro to my book, and that was before I'd been actually IN and ON and THROUGH a river. That was simply from some observations. After yesterday, I will never look at a river the same way again. I know this blog is about burning, but I do have to make one amendment to my introductory essay in the book as soon as possible: you know when I say that it's really not about the rocks? Well, actually, when you're the heaviest butt in the boat... it is. It really IS all about the rocks. Yes, you're going down the river whether you like it or not. But when it's YOUR butt dragging on the bottom of the river, the passage is not quite as serene as it looks from above. Just FYI. Outside, the smoke is clearing. We are about to drive up to cook our dinner at a campsite by a lake. Not the hiking experience we'd been hoping for (cancelled because of the fires), but one that works a whole lot better for weary city people unused to all this interaction with nature. We will harness the fire to cook our dinner and keep us warm. The energy will be useful, not destructive. Fires you use to cook with are useful. Forest fires are essential. Agricultural burning -- while letting off scary amounts of smoke -- are mandatory, too. Sometimes it's not serene, and sometimes you bang up into the obstacles in a painful and embarrassing manner. Sometimes the smoke gets in your eyes. And sometimes it looks worse than it is. Things that look large and threatening can, at times, be good and empowering. Necessary for future growth. Clearing the way for new things, providing nourishment for the renewal of life. # posted by Katherine Doughtie Nolan @ 4:27 PM  
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