Just prior to the full brunt of the holidays, my wife and I took a quick trip to Belize. I wanted to warm up for a few days - I’m perpetually cold – and see what is known as the broadleaf jungle. We headed inland into the mountains towards our small hotel. As the altitude got higher, we entered something called the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest. The hills, the red color of the dirt, and pine trees as far as I could see reminded me a lot of Clark County, Alabama. Fortunately, the lodge sat low along a creek and just like in Clark County, the hardwoods were plentiful along the creek side. Towering and massive trees of species I’d never seen. It was beautiful.
One day we drove aways and spent a long while at the Mayan ruins of Caracol. You’ve seen them in pictures. Massive stone pyramids made about 1400 years ago in the heyday of the Mayan civilization, reclaimed by jungle when the Mayans abandoned their civilizations and rediscovered about ninety years ago by a logger looking for Mahogony trees.
It occurred to me as my wife and I stood atop the tallest pyramid looking out for hundreds of miles over the jungle canopy, that men sure like to make other men carry rocks up hills. Rocks, by their very nature, typically want to be at the bottoms of hills or they make up the very hills themselves. Why is it that men, to boast of their power and influence, force others to put rocks on top of each other until they’ve created something massive? Why rocks? Why up? Why fight against nature and gravity? “Hey,” someone said. “See that big rock there? Go put it up there,” he said, pointing to a higher point. “Naw,” the other person said. “It’s down there for a reason. Rocks go downhill. That’s the way it works. That’s what makes them heavy – they like being down at the bottom of hills. Maybe we can put some dried leaves up there. That would look nice.” “No,” he said in reply, “It’ll be rocks up there. You were captured in the last war between our tribes so please get started.” So, we got pyramids.
Every continent in the world except Antarctica and Australia have stone pyramids, built my men to boast to their citizens and enemies about their power and influence. Seems to be a thing. And they didn’t share blueprints, they each did it on their own. Rocks stacked high. And the Mayans would build over the previous king’s temple and make theirs higher. Temples stacked on temples. Rocks stacked on rocks. All carried up. Higher and higher. Men. Trying to boast.
It has, however, occurred to me that on my back patio is a brick fireplace with a block of granite high up in the center of the chimney that the brick mason put there at my request. The rock was hauled to Mobile all the way from North Carolina. And, I really like to show it off.
I’m 1400 years distant from the Mayans but maybe I’m not all that different. I kinda get it.
I'm Cam Marston, and I'm just trying to keep it real.
