A lot of people don't understand my climbing of mountains. Why I'd expend the energy, or take the risk. Why I would skip sleep to hike for 20 hours or wake up at 4 AM to go up a 50 degree snow couloir for several thousand vertical feet. Yeah, it's a sufferfest. Yet for some reason I enjoy it. And I figure those who understand do, and those who don't just don't. I can't help you. Maybe one day you'll discover it, but I can't force you to.
But I do understand your point of view.
I fight laziness, I don't particularly like risk. One of my favorite hobbies is sleep. And I understand why you just plain and simply wouldn't care to stand on a mountaintop. There are plenty of things I don't care to be involved in that other people can't live without (football?)
A few years ago I was thinking about the fact that many (Most? All?) people out there have wondered what it would be like to fly. Dreamers for ages have longed for the feeling, which brought us airlines and thrill rides. I've thought about it many times. But then I thought about what the world would be like if we
could fly. If it was normal, and we had always been able to. But say it takes a lot of effort, and a lot of people consider it too risky. It's not a form of transportation, but a thing to enjoy if you care to. I bet there would be people in this imaginary world that simply would not care to fly. Whether they are lazy, or didn't want to take the risk. Or they just had no interest in it because it's so commonplace. Everyone knows you can fly if you try hard enough.
So I wrote a song. This is about a guy who just doesn't feel like flying even though he has the capacity to fly, and all his friends are doing it. I pictured the person he's talking to/about as a free spirited girl, eager for excitement and thrill. Not ready to keep her feet on the ground. There is room for deeper meaning, but I won't touch on that in this blog. So I present to you
Come Back Down by Ammon Hatch
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"Come Back Down"
You go flying by
Way up in the sky
Dancing with the clouds
And you say aloud
"What are you doing down there"
And I say to you
"I'm waiting here for you to come back down"
I've always found the earth to be
A comfort underneath my feet
Squeeze the soil between my toes
I'll stay down here where the grass grows
I'll watch you as you fly around
I'll watch you as the birds surround
And while you're up there I will be
Happily
Waiting here for you to come back down
Waiting here for you
Waiting here for you
Waiting here for you
I feel no need to be
High above the trees
I feel no need to go
Where the town's below
My legs, they work just fine
And I've got lots of time
So you can ride the wind
And I'll walk.
Adventure never was my taste
But when you're bored come down with haste
I'll make some lemonade for two
And share a sandwich here with you
On a blanket on the grass
We'll watch the time go slowly past
And at the end of the day
I'll let you fly away
But I'll stay here
Waiting here for you to come back down
Waiting here for you
Waiting here for you
Waiting here for you
For you
