NOT HIS TIME...

I remember watching a show on TV years ago, about where they found a prehistoric man frozen and preserved in the ice near the North Pole. With nothing to lose, the scientists worked and worked, thawed the man out and finally brought him back to life. A man that had lived approximately 25,000 years ago...

Needless to say, the poor man was in an acute state of shock, to wake up in a strange place and a strange time; nothing like anything he had known. All these strange people moving about and all looking at him. I can only imagine what must have been going through  this 25,000 year old man's mind. He was making noises totally unfamiliar to the modern day scientists, but some of the local Eskimo elders recognized that what he was saying was in a language even ancient to them.They could barely make out what he was trying to say, but finally realized he was asking a question. He was asking...where his children were? I hate to say it but I could almost feel the pain of his loss... As frightened as this man was, he still worried, first, about his loved ones. Right away, many of the scientists realized they had made a mistake reviving this man. He was lost and didn't belong here...in this time...this place...

I have heard some say they would like to live forever, but what if we could, but our loved ones could not? I think the loss of family and things familiar to us is a part of who we are and without these, we would be lost and like a fish out of water. I guess maybe this is why we live for a time, then our time is past. It is time to move on and leave this place we have known  for such a short time.

In the movie, the scientists built a place for the prehistoric man, duplicating conditions that he would have known in his day...in his time. Despite their efforts, the man remained lost. This was not his place in time and he was slowly declining in health and spirit.
The ending to the movie was a real shocker and in a moment of desperation, the man escaped from his simulated enclosure, managed to climb in to a helicopter(like a bird to him, I guess), without being seen. Once the machine was airborne, they realized what had happened, but too late...The pilot was helpless to do anything and the scientists below could only watch in horror as the man leaped from the helicopter and to his death.

The local elders told of an ancient belief and stories of people flying away at their time of death. This was not this man's world and he apparently decided to fly home to be with his family.

When the dismayed scientists laid his broken body in the earth, some of the local people came and placed a small  totem to mark his spot. Whoever this man had been, because of the language similarity, he may have been an ancestor. It was the least they  could do...

Down A dark Path...

Everyone has an imagination, some more vivid than others, and sometimes it can get away from us. Have you ever wondered where a deep, dark path leads? You are on a nice walk through the woods and you come upon a path. You look, and it seems to descend downward to some place dark and who knows what's down there? I have...

I guess we all have struggled with ourselves, daring ourselves to find out, but something in the back of your mind keeps telling you...DON'T do it! Don't go down there. Chances are, there is nothing harmful down there but, WHAT if there is? I learned a long time ago that is is easier to STAY out of trouble, than to GET out of it...

I don't know if it was my alter ego telling me I'm chicken, if I DON'T go,  or what , but at last I had to 'Man Up' and find out for myself. I start  down the path,carefully watching where I walked, because I have learned that we are not the ONLY ones in the woods. Lots of things live there, out of sight, and hopefully, out of my way...Still, that nagging little voice telling me...'This is not a good idea'!

The  path is wide enough, as if at one time it was well traveled. The way is wide and clear and if anything was ahead of me I might have enough time to change my plans; Maybe... Run, if necessary. My pleasant walk in the woods has turned into an uneasy walk in the woods. Darn it! Why did I  have to let my ego get me into this? Suddenly, I hear a rustling noise in the brush. My heart jumped a beat or two and I stood still. What could it be?

I knew there were bears around and I really didn't want to run into one. No doubt, they can outrun me, and I don't have anything except my walking stick to protect me. Oh man! I waited and listened and then heard it again. There was definitely something moving there. Now, I know how the animals must feel when they are being hunted. But what was hunting, or watching me? THEN, I saw what it was. I breathed a sigh of relief  when I realized..no bear! Thank God for that. We both stood for a moment or two just looking at each other...

It wasn't the ferocious beast I had imagined and it was young enough that it probably hadn't learned to fear humans yet, but the deer just stood there looking . I guess he was curious, as to what I was. Old enough to be on his own, and curious about this strange creature in HIS woods...Meaning me...

Not at all alarmed, and when he got tired of watching me, he turned, walked a short distance and put his head down to resume eating grass. Much relieved, I walked slowly on, so as not to frighten him. Let him live a peaceful life, while he can.

I moved on down the path, feeling a bit braver now, since I hadn't encountered anything bigger than me. About a quarter mile farther the path began to widen and there it was; the end of the road/path and the answer to where it went. An old cabin, long deserted, but still standing. From the looks of it, it must have been built in the 1800s.

I wondered who might have lived here and wondered how they must have felt when they first raised it and moved in. I'm sure they must have had some reservations about what they were sharing the woods with, but they didn't have the road/path yet...

Showing Respect...

Respect was (and still is) a big thing with Native American Indians. If a man, woman, or even an enemy was worthy of respect, they respected them. It may seem strange to engage in a battle with someone, to kill them and STILL show respect, but if an enemy fought well, he may be killed during the ensuing fight, but afterwards was treated with respect.
 I read of such an incident in Wyoming where a cavalry unit was overwhelmed by a much larger force of Indian warriors. The battle didn't last long but, as the story goes, the bugler  didn't seem to have a weapon...just his bugle, but in his own defense he was mounting a ferocious counter attack with just the trumpet in his hand. He was killed, along with the rest but when it came to taking hair(scalping) from the rest, the bugler was spared. He was buried with his hair still on his head. He had fought and died bravely and the Indians admired that. Years later, after a big pow wow in Laramie, warriors that remembered that fight and that brave bugler, went out of their way on the return trip home, to show honor to that fallen Bugler.

On another show of respect, comes the story of  young Crow Indian boy, who decided to prove his manhood by sneaking into an enemy camp and to steal some horses. Back in those days, it was  considered brave, but an extremely dangerous sport. Especially, if you got caught...

It was a very cold winter night and he knew that most would be huddled in their teepees to keep warm.He got into the camp, undetected, acquired a couple of nice ponies and was well on his way back out of the camp. It seemed his luck was with him that night. He had almost reached the camp's edge when he saw a old Grandmother, arms full of firewood and struggling to make her way back to the tent. All he could think of, seeing her struggling, was his own grandmother, so he just had to help. He momentarily tied the horses, and ran to help Grandmother. As surprised as she must have been to see this Crow boy in their camp, she accepted his help with the wood, In no time, they made it to Grandmother's teepee and she was safe with her firewood. It was then he turned and realized..he had been caught...

It must have been a frightening moment  for the young man, but what he had done, saved his life. His captors told him BECAUSE of his respect for Grandmother, he had earned a free passage out and a chance to live another day...But, don't ever come back...

Although the American Indian lived, often, on the very edge of existence, they respected the land, the animals, all of what the Creator had given them. Even though they relied on the buffalo, rabbits, and a variety of animals for their subsistence, they always showed respect(and more or less apologized and thanked) the creatures they were about to kill and eat. What must be done, must be done, but with respect...