Western Influence

For some reason, I've been attracted to, more or less about reading books and watching films set in the Southwestern part of this great country we live in.


Take for example the novel Plainsong by Kent Haruf and the films Paris, Texas , Border Radio, and Two Lane Blacktop. All works concerning a central commonality of characters feeling displaced and disillusioned; perhaps of life, perhaps the lack of love, or the failure to connect with others. Or characters attracted to the possibilities of life and living it up in the rural wonderland of rugged landscapes, open roads, and hot deserts.

They all seem to share a sense of security, in spite of all the disillusionment, that everything is going to be okay; or that they'll find what they're looking for. Happiness isn't going to come easy, or it may never come at all. But there's a sense of peace that does make me jealous.

I went to New Mexico and Colorado two years ago during summer vacation from graduate school. I loved every minute of it. The dry heat. The sweeping landscapes of desert and turquoise. Canyons that were high, oh so very high that it made me dizzy with fear. But I loved the people, and the landscapes. A feeling of contentment and ruefulness that I can't quite describe.

Characters such as the two men of Two Lane Blacktop, played by musicians Dennis Wilson and James Taylor driving on the open air; or the woman searching for her missing husband in Border Radio; or that sad-sack, character Harry Dean Stanton played in Paris, Texas all try valiantly to find happiness and meaning through open landscapes and dingy motels alongside the hot desert sun. But somehow they all have a certain peacefulness that I've been fascinated with and attracted to for quite some time now. One day, and who knows. I'll be over there. Yes, I will. I just don't know how long it's going to be till when.