"If opportunity doesnʻt knock, build a door."~~ Milton Berle
Walking around what is nicknamed "Glitter Gulch" near Denali Park I passed other pedestrians, cars, bridges, trees, a river, buildings and.......a door. It stands perfectly upright about ten steps off the pedestrian/bike path along the main highway. For a split second I was perplexed then intrigued. Then a little light went on in my head and shortly after passing this door I built my own door of opportunity and took the first step toward a business venture in Glitter Gulch. More on that at another date.
"A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it,
bearing within him the image of a cathedral."~Antoine de Saint-Expéry, Flight to Arras, 1942
Naturally I didnʻt open the grey door in the picture here. After all it is marked "Private". The mind whirls with logical thoughts of what might be on the other side, doesnʻt it? A shanty shack? A modern, luxurious mansion? Iʻll tell you itʻs most likely a shack since just past those trees the hillside drops at a severe angle down to the swift running Nenana River. Not a lot of real-estate on which to build mansions (or cathedrals). But Iʻll bet whoever lives there is as happy as a lark being able to spend their summer in Denali Park.
"I doubt that the imagination can be suppressed. If you truly eradicated it in
a child, he would grow up to be an eggplant."~Ursula K. LeGuin, The Language of the Night
Enough with logic. I love to imagine ludicrous things where logic dictates otherwise. Imagination keeps the mind and heart young. Expressing it out loud can quite often generate odd looks from folks. Oh well never you mind those eggplants walking around. They donʻt know what theyʻre missing. Whatʻs on the other side of the door? My sister says itʻs the Other Narnia. Maybe itʻs a time portal back to when paved roads and motorized vehicles didnʻt exist. Perhaps to the future, though thatʻd take all the fun out of living day to day I think. Or is it the door to immortality? Or might you become the wind or a dragon if you step through? A superhero? Yes the possibilities are endless! Unless, of course, youʻre an eggplant in which case you stepped through to find.......gravel and trees alongside the highway beside a grey door marked "Private". I for one am NOT an eggplant and I doubt you are either. So tell me what happens if you step through the door......
Last time I was in Denali Park (in May), about 20 yards down the road from that door was a driveway and a 'For Sale' sign. That property was up for grabs. Perhaps behind the door is a slightly scared, brand new shack-owner wondering what on earth they have just bought into. Perhaps the property is still for sale...
ReplyDeleteThink of the possibilities. Also, no fair dropping hints of that magnitude and then not telling more... :)
So glad to NOT be an eggplant (for today, anyway). Gladder still to know that if we stepped through the door together, we would see magic no matter what lies on the other side.
In fact the property is still for sale. Ideas?
ReplyDeleteDavid Copperfield would be envious of the magic weʻd conjure up stepping through the door simultaneously. Look out!
Now about that opportunity......
Mortgage our firstborn children? I jest. Wait. No, we could probably manage to get just enough for a downpayment before the slavetraders chased us down and demanded their money back.
ReplyDeleteI wish we could buy that property.