Simple Man
I am a simple man and it is the simple things in life that make it worth living. Where is that one place you go to be right with the world? Where you feel connected and at peace with yourself? For me that place is about a 30 minute drive from my home and just above on the mountain overlooking Central City, Colorado. Down through the decades of my life since I was a lad – I have felt a spiritual healing when I visit. This small park next to the timeworn Coeur d’Alene gold mine has 4 picnic tables that oversees the valley and the old gold mining towns of Central City and Blackhawk. The park is nestled in an old rock foundation of the building that once stood proud and tall on the mountain. Is it the most scenic place in Colorado—that would be “no”—but, over the years, the tall wooden cross that is memorialized there has been a favorite photographic subject of mine. I have always been drawn to this place of old. I often wondered if this place was where I may have lived in a past life. Where I laughed, where I was sad, where I was loved. Maybe, just maybe, I am a simple man growing gray that has put too much meaning into this small park on a mountain. One thing I know is that I love the loneliness and solitude of this park; for it clears my mind to muse and to write. I have written numerous story poems and chapters of my adventure novels sitting in the summer mountain breeze, warm sunshine, and even in the winter’s silent snow here. It is my favorite place to reflect of all things that matter to me.
Today I visited this divine place, and I had a visitor, and he seemed just as curious of me as I was of him. Not sure about the rest of the country, but mountain black crows are a very sizable bird, and I have many times used them as forebears of knowledge in my books. The ancient Ute Indians of the Rocky Mountains saw them as mystical, as do I. I watched the crow as he rode the updrafts from the valley without flapping his wings gliding back and forth in an aerial ballet of sorts for about 40 minutes. Sometime he was so high in the air I could barely see him and other times he was just inches off the ground not over 4 feet away. He circled back and forth as if destiny had linked the two of us. Watching him as he rode the Rocky Mountain currents, I pondered when he floated on the wind if he had a destination I was keeping him from or that if he just rode the air streams – because he could. As he finally left for parts unknown, I decided I would never know, and I am okay with that. I rejoice in the fact that I am a simple man.
“Simple Man”
Kurt James
Kurt James © 2020
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Born beneath the snow-capped peaks of the Colorado Rockies, Kurt James grew up surrounded by stories of ghost towns, outlaws, and frontier legends. Years in South Dakota and deep family roots in western Kansas gave him a lasting love for open skies and the rugged soul of the American West.
A poet and novelist, Kurt writes Western fiction and historical adventure with grit, realism, and heart. His work has been featured by the Denver Post, PM Magazine, and 9NEWS, and praised for capturing the spirit of the Old West in vivid, cinematic detail.
Author of more than twenty books, Kurt’s acclaimed Rocky Mountain Series brings the frontier to life through powerful storytelling and unforgettable landscapes. His upcoming novels—Reifschneider Stagecoach Detective and Winter of the Wolf Moon—continue that legacy.
Kurt James is a proud member of the Western Writers of America.
A poet and novelist, Kurt writes Western fiction and historical adventure with grit, realism, and heart. His work has been featured by the Denver Post, PM Magazine, and 9NEWS, and praised for capturing the spirit of the Old West in vivid, cinematic detail.
Author of more than twenty books, Kurt’s acclaimed Rocky Mountain Series brings the frontier to life through powerful storytelling and unforgettable landscapes. His upcoming novels—Reifschneider Stagecoach Detective and Winter of the Wolf Moon—continue that legacy.
Kurt James is a proud member of the Western Writers of America.
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A delightful read on this cold gloomy day here at home. That park sounds very special. I have a couple of places that evoke similar feelings in me. A small mountain top community where we used to live called Belthorpe, especially. In the Winter the fog was so thick that you actually felt you were in the clouds. I think maybe we were. Crows always have an air of being much more than just an ordinary bird. There is just something about them. Thank you for sharing Kurt. Love your photography too.
Thank you John for your nice comment – I think we all need at least one place that we feel connected to the earth and the heavens. One with nature. I am going to google Belthorpe and see for myself one of yours…
Bellthorpe, Queensland sorry, two ‘l’s.
Such a wonderful, peaceful memoir, Kurt. I love mountain air and the peace and quiet when I find a good spot like you did. This piece takes me back to California, years ago, when I lived in the Santa Cruz mountains in a small town. I would often hike to a quiet place up back of the town to find solitude where I could be one with nature. Crows are quite mystical beings and seem to know what mood we are in and share that feeling with us. I love your thoughts on the friend who paid you a special visit. Thank you for sharing those moments.
Thank you Phyllis, I am glad this piece brought make memories of a special place to you.
I have many little trails in the Sierras that I love to visit when I can. Thank you Kurt. Nice write. Jamie
Really felt like I was sitting at this Small Park on a Mountain…there…watching you and this “Raven/Big Black Crow” get things sorted out. Kind of a “Mind Meld” moment between you and this bird…as if he (The Crow) wanted to try to let you know something more about the place, himself, or just about birds in nature…in general. Was enjoying this written by a “Simple Man”. Nothing wrong with a Man slowing things down and being a Simple Man. Lynyrd Skynyrd: “And be a simple kind of man…Oh be something you love and understand” song about a “Simple Man”…comes to mind as I am reading along your story. Great Read! Would like to see future “Simple Man” excerpts from your Colorado Small Park in the Mountains…if you’re counting “Raised hands” from the audience.