17 february 2007, southern utah
markie's in the high country, the desert. half a year ago, when he started tossing around the term 'anarchist,' i tossed back at him 'edward abbey.' now markie's in utah, journeying, and in his first letter to me today, he said 'i feel like edward abbey.' he writes that he's angry at me; but i delight: he's taken one of my heroes as a guide. see? i'm monkey-wrenching motherhood. the cantankerous old crusader would cackle at that.
here's a quote i'll send to markie in tomorrow's mail, from a letter edward abbey wrote in 1984, responding to a list of questions sent to him by a woman who'd read his works and wanted answers. an excerpt i love:
"10)Yes, there are plenty of heroes and heroines everywhere you look. They are not famous people. They are generally obscure and modest people doing useful work, keeping their families together, and taking an active part in the health of their communities, opposing what is evil (in one way or another) and defending what is good. Heroes do not want power over others. There are more heroic people in the public school system than there are in the world of politics, military, big business, the arts and the sciences combined. My mother is a heroine—has been all her life.
So what should we do, here and now, as individuals? Well, see above, item 10. Refuse to participate in evil; insist on taking part in what is healthy, generous, and responsible. Stand up, speak out, and when necessary fight back. Get down off the fence and lend a hand, grab a-hold, be a citizen—not a subject."
(edward abbey, 1984)
