Howls from Mountain and Valley
Posted by Mike E on June 20, 2009
By Mike Ely
We were staying in a green flat valley in the northern Rockies. A steep snow-covered ridge of mountain started to rise abruptly just a short walk from the house. At about 2 am in the morning there was a knock on the door. “Come outside. Hear this.”
We stepped out onto the wide porch, into a slight chill, and listened — looking up at that wall of mountain in black silhouette against the stars.
We waited, and there it was.
A wolf howled loud, and held its note. And then, far to the right on a different part of mountain, came a reply, mournful, searching. And then another. Over and over they howled in longing.
A wolf pack must have gotten separated during their nighttime adventures. They were seeking each other out. Howling, and moving closer to connect, in the dense woods above the valley.
And then, an amazing thing happened.
The dogs of this valley started making noise. It rose from dozens of scattered ranches, farmhouses and homes– until the valley floor seemed alive with their sounds.
Some of the dogs barked — short and hostile — warning their owners of the wolves. But there were others among the dogs, more than you might suspect, who didn’t answer with protective yaps — but with long searching howls of their own. “We’re here.”
On the porch, we grinned. There are often more dreaming of freedom than you might expect. And my thoughts flickered back, for a second, to our work: how do we regroup in ways that connect with all those who are waiting?
Koba said
Clever :-)
Andre C said
Any advice for the cubs out there who are trying to find their way without the poles (red states) that existed before?
Green Red said
Hi Ka Andrea; good to hear from you
your question still relates back to which onese were red poles truly and, how much of a socialism you see within say from Bolivarian movement in Venezuela up till… Nepalese Maoists and their ’2 line’ struggle going on currently.
Without their experiences, understanding their errors and what conditions led them to their failures both internaly and in relation with the rest of the world status…
Why Cuba lasted while the rest of the Soviet block did not or, to what degree each one sold out?
Which Maoist attempts to make revolution were successful? Was Pol Pot – that according to its own claim was taking the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution to its higher level…
What is so special about today’s Nepal ongoing revolution and, will for example the great ongoing revolution in India possibly at some point need to negotiate anything with the current Indian regime or, as CPI Maoist spokeperson AZAD indicated negotiations don’t seem to be any sort of near future tools…
But all that aside, what does it have to do with the US that is not in similar conditions of south Asian states of such conditions….
Andre C said
brother redgreen, yes, I think that’s a groundbreaking point. Vibrant internationalism, not afraid of excavating different trends and ideas. But if one is ‘too everwhere’ and possibly ecclectic, then how do should that be dealt with?
Andre C said
Actually ‘dealing’ with curiosity is not a correct approach. I suppose that’s a result of growing up around such conservativness. What I meant by ‘deal’ing is trying to highlight what is needed and corresponds to reality as opposed to just sending people off in different directions.