Sunday, October 12, 2008

Chet Raymo Imitation

At the ripe young age of nine, I set out on an adventure that I still have the opportunity to encounter every fall; deer hunting. It is at this point that the intellectual readers out there scoff at the “redneck” writing this essay and quickly direct their attention towards some piece of legitimate literature. But wait, this story is not just about tramping around in the dark looking for Bambi, I promise.

A love for the outdoors, and especially the majestic Whitetail deer, was born into me. Somewhere inside of my DNA, a sequence of adenosine and thymine, or maybe guanine and cytosine, controls a hormone release that sends me into the woods when it is 20 degrees outside with a bone chilling wind. To any normal person, getting up early on a Saturday just to “sit outside in the dark and cold” is ridiculous, insane, a clear sign of mental ineptitude. Not to a Pierson. My father has been hunting since his teens, spending every free moment sitting in a tree, looking for a deer. To my mother’s dismay, she did not get to experience the romantic vacations most newlyweds experience before children and careers make their appearances. Instead of using vacations from work to travel to exotic locations and eat candlelight dinners, my dad would opt to take off for two weeks during prime deer season. He would spend every morning and night in the woods, usually six or seven hours a day. As you can imagine, this is not the dream of most brides, but I guess he picked the right lady, considering the fact that she is still hanging around twenty-seven years later. This love, respect, and adoration of hunting flowed right through that X chromosome and landed smack dab in the middle of me. Our family albums overflow with pictures of a chubby, buck-toothed, blond-headed lad in camouflage, sitting on the tailgate of an old Ford truck with a mustached man and a deer. It may not make for the most impressive album of pictures around, but I would not trade those memories for anything.

After this brief family history, I think the joy I felt that first day, at the age of nine, is pretty clear. Dad had finally given the OK for me to tag along on one of these journeys into the unknown. As I put on layer after layer of clothing to save myself from the cold, he just smiled. You could tell how excited he was to share his passion with his youngest son. Despite the “frost bite” that engulfed my entire body that day, or the intense torture my bladder had to endure, that experience has served as one of the most memorable and cherished memories of my young life. Ever since that day, I have been in love with the woods. This love for the wilderness can probably help explain why I do not have the best of luck with girls. But, unlike girls, the woods never hound me about not calling, or get mad when I do not match my tie with my shirt when going out to eat with possible in-laws. The woods do not send mixed signals, and they do not make me worry all night about whether or not they like me. Every time we go on a date, the birds and bugs and owls and deer let me know they appreciate my being there. They appreciate my respect for them and my admiration of their mystery. Now do not get me wrong, I love the lady folk, but sometimes it is just easier to chat with Mother Nature. She always listens and never complains. She does not judge, but is simply glad that I came by for a visit. Every time I stop by, I learn just a little bit more, and leave a little more at peace with the world around me.

In 1990, scientists embarked on one of the most intense and impressive scientific inquiries ever. The Human Genome Project set out to explore you and me. What is it that makes us tick? An attempt to discover the approximately 25,000 genes in the human DNA sequence was no doubt a massive undertaking; one that many people doubted would ever come to fruition. Attempting to decipher the nearly three billion base pairs in DNA was a whole other story in itself. As these scientists set out on a voyage into the unknown, they had no clear path ahead of them, but instead had to forage around in the darkness, looking for the sights and sounds that would point them in the right direction. This adventure offered endless possibilities, and provided the possibility for insight into one of the most intricate and beautiful systems in the entire world.

In Robert Frost’s poem Into my Own, he says, “I should not be withheld but that some day/ into their vastness I should steal away/ Fearless of ever finding open land/ or highway where the slow wheel pours the sand/ I do not see why I should e’er turn back/ Or those should not set forth upon my track/ To overtake me, who should miss me here/ And long to know if still I held them dear/ They would not find me changed from him the knew--/ Only more sure of all I though was true”. Frost delves into the wilderness in this poem, allowing the woods to engulf him completely. He finds no reason to turn back from this adventure, and no reason why others should not follow him into the unknown landscape that lies ahead. In this place, Frost is able to see himself and his beliefs more clearly than ever before. By exploring the mysteries that are contained within the labyrinth of the dark woods, Frost learns not only more about the woods, but the woods help Frost to learn more about himself as well.

As I trudge into the woods every fall, I listen to and watch my surroundings with earnest. It never fails that I learn something about myself with every step I take in this place. The power of silence and solitude is stronger here than anywhere else that I have ever encountered. As I sit alone, accompanied only by my thoughts, I inevitably probe into the dark recesses of my soul, searching for answers to the questions that tease me every day. The clarity of thought I find in this place allows a glimpse into my heart and soul that, for some reason, is elusive during the majority of my life. The insight I gain from these experiences teaches me not just about deer and the wild outdoors, but also leads to a better understanding of myself.

“They would not find me changed from him the knew--/ Only more sure of all I though was true”. It seems that Mr. Frost and I are on the same page with this idea. The search for the soul in nature is a joyous journey that leads us to new places and possibilities that we never imagined possible. By allowing submersion into this unknown wilderness, we allow nature to speak to us. Not in a booming voice that shouts to us in the night, but with a whisper from the wind, a shrill cry from a cicada, the hollow hoot of a wise owl.

In the year 2003, they did it. All of the genes in the human genome were uncovered, the grime cleaned off, the marble polished until it shone. Where will this monumental discovery lead us in the future? The possibilities provided by this discovery are innumerable, but one thing is certain; the uncovering of this information has allowed us to learn about the most intriguing creation in the entire universe, ourselves. As of yet, we are not sure down which path this breakthrough will lead, but we can be certain that it will lead us to a better understanding of “us”. The fact that we can look into ourselves and see exactly what it is that makes us the way we are is an absolutely unbelievable reality that we now have the opportunity to explore. 25,000 genes, three billion base pairs, one exploration into ourselves. “I should not be withheld but that some day/ Into their vastness I should steal away”.

“They would not find me changed from him the knew--/ Only more sure of all I though was true”. This message echoes throughout my experiences in the woods. It also echoes throughout the Human Genome Project. This fascinating voyage into the hard drive of the human body allows for a better understanding of ourselves than previously experienced. My time in the woods serves in the same manner to facilitate introspection that can be obtained through no other medium. The deeper truths that these journeys allow us to obtain serve not only to educate us about the world around us, but also help us to strengthen our faith in ourselves. Through these mediums, we are able to better understand the dreams, pains, and passions that we encounter and pursue on a day to day basis.

No comments: