By Ben Bailey
It was the time of the Corn Harvest Moon. My son, Zeb, and I were visiting my parents. We had enjoyed a fine meal and were just sitting in the living room talking. It had been a hard year for all of us, especially for Zeb. His mother and I were going through a divorce, along with other things that I won’t bore you with. Zeb had seen 18 winters. He had tested the white man’s firewater and wacky baccy. I was somewhat concerned about the direction he was going. My concern deepened when, at about 9:00PM, Zeb just got up and said, “Dad, I gotta go!” Well, I didn’t want to make a big scene in front of my parents, so I just excused myself too and I walked out to Zeb’s car with him where I asked him, “Zeb, where in the world are you going tonight at 9:00PM?” His answer was so rich and pure, so filled with integrity and goodness, so right, so filled with all the things a man wants to see in his son.
“Dad, I have three friends that are camped up at Shining Rock and I want to walk in tonight and find them.” I said, “Zeb, do you realize how stupid and wonderful that is? Do you realize that there is just a very small handful of grown men that would do that? I am very proud of you son. You go for it, even if it don’t make no sense.”
What he heard that night was what I call the “call of the wild”. It’s a call that some men and yes, some women, hear and respond to. It’s a call to leave the path of ease, the warmth of the hearth, the safety of our locked doors, the luxury of our beds and recliners. We trade it all for the satisfaction that we have what it takes. We have stood the test. We can be counted on to come through. We can be trusted to serve and protect those we love. It’s a fierce pride in “who” and “what” we are. It’s our sacred honor.
Needless to say, I quit worrying about the direction that my son was going. I just knew I didn’t have to anymore. Today, Zeb has seen 39 winters, is married and has four children of his own. I can see that he is passing those same principles on to his children. He is a man of integrity and honor. I would trust him with my life.
Perhaps you are thinking that I put too much stock in a story about some teenaged boys on a camping trip. John Eldredge, in his book, Wild at Heart, asserts that “Men need things such as a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to win”.
That is why sitting around that campfire and braving the elements and hardships of the wilderness feels like coming home. It’s who we are. When I see someone with a backpack or on a canoe, loaded down for a trip to the backcountry, I know that there goes my brother, and I feel a kinship and respect for him. We are a fraternity of brothers and I salute you!
Ben Bailey, is a native of Western North Carolina, Master Carpenter, Avid Angler, and Naturalist.