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Show PAGE 24 THE ZEPHYRSEPTEMBER 89 Miracles as Usual by Qail Denton The search for love Is common to all humans. They look everywhere. It Is that connection we all seem to seek, or to pretend we seek It not, as loudly and as obviously as possible, thereby snagging at lease some other and seeking equally fearful soul, lost perhaps In the much of to heal It at least In the reflection they see of humanity. So I found myself again (at last) In Utah, a spot In the Canyonlands known as the Maze. It took us three days Just to get here, and so we descended Into It, seeing no pathway from the butte to the floor below, yet sure of success, for the visible footpaths and pools of water so close as the falcon flies. In Utah. So why am I here. In the desert Literally days past ski season. With the wind blowing my anorak ever closer to my skin and the blowing sand keeping my eyelids on constant alert Why was I sleeping outside of a tent Flat on rocks and sand, under the Big Dipper (I swear Its moved again) with people I don't know In country I barely recall as a child. Though I yearned to return to Utah, and the familiar cold winters and hot sunny summers. But It has been folly 27 years since my last visit and I remember each day how much I missed It Not really knowing as a child the depth of the penetrating beauty, peace and solemnity available here, and for centuries prior to the arrival of my shining face. How I remember my childhood here, watching Utah from the back seat of a classic (eventually) blue and white 56 Chevy, traveling each summer with Dad as he went around Inspecting cheese factories In small towns with large cottonwood trees. Now I look down at the Maze and see that those venerable trees mark the water necessary for life's essence. And what had looked like sheer desolation and bleak, stark beauty is In fact a warm, welcome and peacefully challenging home to those who have the eyes, to see the cottonwoods, the , self-reject- ion . blossoming cacti and the lushness of the sage and salt bush. Selective vision makes the difference here. Seeing with new eyes the desert Seeing all that Is there; the lushness and sparse elegance. There Is no struggle here. The Juniper, prickly pear and canyon wren see no lack. The low bushes, reedy grasses and leaping lizards have no clue they are "In the desert They are home, Just as naturally as I drive my Subaru and you pop bread Into the toaster each morning. They awaken to the sun, the rain and the wind even as we; this Is home. And I dare say there are fewer so peaceful, so bright, so cyclically full of lifes vital guarantee of constant and pure change. They are at home. I a mere visitor upon the floor and colored ledges thereof. My footprints are left upon the carpet, my nail prints scratched as I scramble from one level of the house to another. When my little habit of grabbing a dry twig to break apart (substituting my perennial office habit GREAT PLACES! GREAT PRICES! 36- 4- Secluded, self-suffici- ent 10 acre parcel with im- provements. $25,000. 26- 5- Ah Wilderness! 80 acres just beyond the Mtn. Loop Road. Owner may carry. 22- 4- Castle Valley Homesite. 6.4 acres with well, septic, fence. $21,900. You be the judge. Excellent in29- 9- Duplex or vestment property. $69,900. 37- l- Good income property, 4 plex. Owner finance. $80,000. . of playing with my pen) gets occasional thwart of stickers, I remember again this Is not my house. I am the guest here In need of gentle reminder of my manners. Desolate. I think not. Hostile. Hardly. Mysterious. Perhaps unknown. Much like going to dinner at the home of someone known to you only through rumor, jealous slurs and hideous tales of those who forget themselves. Generally a for cry from the third party gossip video or the "strewn corpses of mules and miners scenario Hollywood has so handily served up these many years. Sort of like spending the summer at your German grandpas form. A few very strict rules (for your own good no doubt) mixed In with some chores, fresh garden vegetables and lost of love from grandma (and cookies) thrown In. Not to mention warm memories and a distant and clear yearning to return that Ungers clearly throughout life, stored In a very secure comer of the heart, safe from all Invaders. So It Is I return to Utah, that faint murmur, that puU to the fomlUar held these many years as I wandered, viewed and tasted of the earth, at least three of the available four comers so far. It smells Uke home, And strangely, easily, It feels Ike home to me. looks Uke It and sounds right too. The air, the leaves upon the trees, the snow on distant peaks, the sand, wind and even unto the high clouds of the heavens. It Is easy to be here. And more. A gift, and a blessing. This pleasant, and I remain a guest Welcome yes. As long as I mind my manners, remember who I am. And how long my personal back country permits Is good for. There must be some time limit With luck no shorter than my earth passport stay, may I abide here. Or perhaps, If others need my spot, possibly just a twinkle of space on the sparkle of dew which may rest from time to time on the sleeping snout of the pond frog. Just as long as some over-vigortourist refrains from pounding laundry upon the rock ledge May I ous overhead his sleeping countenance. Lest we forget who Is the guest and who the hutmelster. Copyright 1989 Miracles As Usual bv Gall L Denton. PhD . " V ... , gallery westlight so. main 750 259-794- 3 r original images by norm Shrewsbury Tri-ple- x. 271 Commercial property, 7 unit mobile park. $155,000. 36- 8- Ready to retire but need just a little something to do? Call us about this ideal business. 259-502- 1 Quality Realty 59 S. Main Western Plaza H Moab, Ut 84532 attention! ail persons doing laundry at miller's shopping center . Put your trust in Number One: Equal Housing Opportunity g EACH OFFICE IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED. i we have film, batteries, filters, and tripods, just 39 steps away at westlight, around the corner from the laundromat competitive prices , |