October 2, 2012

WE HAD PLANNED TO GO TO MESA VERDI TODAY to see the ancient Anasazi ruins. The Anasazi lived in the Four Corners area around 2000 years ago, and not much is known about them. Actually, the political correctness boys have substituted the word "Puebloans" for Anasazi.  After using the term Anasazi for over a hundred years, archeologists discovered that the word meant either "ancient enemies" or "ancient strangers." Supposedly, the Pueblo Indians find the word Anasazi to be offensive. I suppose it is something like the Indians versus Native Americans issue. Ironically, everywhere we have been in the West, Indians call themselves Indians. I suppose I will have to ask a Pueblo how he or she feels about the word Anasazi.

When we began to look into what was involved in visiting the Mesa Verde park, we found that we would have to drive 21 miles after we drove up a steep, narrow and winding road to see the first Anasazi dwelling. Once we got there, we would be able to see inside the dwelling by climbing a steep ladder. I convinced Carole that today should be a day of rest.

Part of the day was occupied with determining where we would go next. When Carole mentioned New Mexico, I balked. On any other trip, I would have readily agreed to visit New Mexico. So far on this trip, however, we have been bombarded with photos, posters and books about some of the West's so-called real bad boys. Most of these bad boys killed at most only one or two people. I knew that if we went to New Mexico, we would end up hearing and seeing way too much about Billy the Kid, another guy who does not deserve his reputation. Although almost every sentient human being thinks that they know all about Billy, most of what people have "learned" about him through movies or TV is dead wrong. For years, he was referred to as the "left-handed gun." In fact, Paul Newman portrayed him in a movie entitled "The Left-Handed Gun. Everyone "knew" he was left handed because of a an old tin-type photo which shows him to be left handed. Eventually, some unknown photographer explained that tin-types produced a mirror image. Today, at least, the image has been reversed to show that he was right-handed.

Even more galling is that books and movies have repeated the canard that he killed 21 men before he was 21 years old.  In recent years, historians have concluded that he only killed between 3 and 5 men.

Compare Billy with John Wesley Hardin, a man who historians agree killed somewhere between 30 and 40 men. A real bad dude, he once killed a man for snoring. Having compiled such a bloody record, one would assume his name would be far more familiar than Billy the Kid. Yet, were it not for Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding album, he would be a forgotten man today. History can be so unfair. Dylan spelled John Wesley's last name as "Harding," but Bob's heart was in the right place.

Carole relented on New Mexico, and we decided to drive east until we could find a road which would take us to northern Colorado.