The Big Warrior: Born Out of the Campfire Smoke

"It was a cold, dark, windy night............."

That's how they started. They all started that way. At first it was scary, spooky scary, and a tingling sensation ran rapidly down their spines. After a time, the scary feeling left but the tingling remained and with it came anticipation and excitement.

Way back before the beginning of time, at least my time, there lived a small boy. As his father and mother divorced while he was young, he was raised partially by his grandparents. He spent his summer days in the Teton Basin on the cattle ranch of his grandfather. The smell of horses, cows, and hay were the fragrances of his world. At times the coolness of the air softened their influence on him; the wind would mix them together; the rain thickened their scent. But that was his world and he loved it.

His time was spent with the rough ranch hands. They recognized his youth but found it entertaining when he would express himself, using their colorful language. They were at ease when he joined them on the trail rides. The evening sun would frequently find him in the mountains, sitting around a camp fire with the ranch hands after a long day in the saddle. The nights were often cold, windy and dark, always dark. Viewing him as a miniature of themselves, the ranch hands watched out for him, cared for him and accepted him, and he them. Fathers? No, but they were the men in his life.

As with all men, the journey into manhood must be taken, and so it was with the boy. Time passed; he became a husband and a father with children of his own to love, to stay close to, to care for and to share, in part, his life with them.

As a man, he never said whether he enjoyed those long nights by the camp fire. But on family camping trips, he could be found sitting by the fire – tending it into the early morning hours. His ever watchful eyes were on the flames, never letting them burn low. He watched as the flames danced high and the smoke curled up into the air – at times taking on an almost human form.

As a child, the flames of the fire warmed his body as he feel asleep; as a man, his arms warmed the bodies of his children as they curled up next to him in bed. This was their special time. It lasted only a short time, but it was theirs. As the busyness of the day was replaced by the comforting soft sound of their father’s heartbeat, the children would hear a voice in the dark. A soft, soothing voice, saying, “It was a cold, dark, windy night………”

At first it was scary, spooky scary, and a tingling sensation ran rapidly down their spines. After a time, the scary feeling left but the tingling remained and with it came anticipation and excitement, for they knew they would hear a tale of “The Big Warrior.”

Have you ever heard of the Big Warrior? If not, you have missed some of the greatest tales ever told. For they were born out of the campfire smoke in the mountains surrounding the Teton Basin, and they always begin with “It was a cold, dark, windy night.”

But that is for another posting. For now, cherish your childhood, your fathers, and your children, for one day all will be gone, and you will have only the memories to keep you warm at night.