LJI: Carved in Stone

I have never seen Mount Rushmore, except in photographs and film. While I wouldn't necessarily refuse to go if it was convenient, it's not some place that would feature high on my dream vacation destinations. I'm tired of going to see "Old White Man History," white-washed and devoid of the richness and significance the Mountain held for those who came before Charles E. Rushmore and his guide, William Challis named it without thought. (“What’s the name of that mountain?” Rushmore allegedly asked. Challis is said to have replied, “It’s never had one...till now...we’ll call the damn thing Rushmore.”)

Danish-American sculptor Gutzon Borglum is much more interesting to me than Rushmore and Challis. Borglum had the wild and crazy dream to carve a mountain. Consulting only his son, supposedly, Borglum decided to choose subject material that would stir the nation and picked four presidents, hoping to capture certain characteristics of each man and literally carve them into stone:

George Washington, chosen because he fought to create something new and better than what had existed before; Thomas Jefferson, chosen to represent growth and inherent values; Theodore Roosevelt, chosen to represent conservation; and, lastly, Abraham Lincoln, chosen to represent perseverance.

I am no artist. I can't draw a stick figure to save my life and I wouldn't know which end of a chisel to use. But, when it comes to moving mountains, each of us has our own experiences to draw from and while our final product won't be carved into mountains, for many of us it will be carved in a final stone, summed up in a pithy epithet.

Here lies Bewize. too bad she died; she was a keeper.

At least, that's what I hope my figurative headstone would say. Forgetting the fact that I have chosen cremation, headstones come with a certain pressure to have a final word. Since we don't get to necessarily supervise the carving, we have to rely on others to make sure it's embodying our best selves.

Bewize the Daughter. Bewize the Mom. Bewize the Sister. Bewize the Friend. Bewize the Lawyer. Bewize the Entertainer. Bewize the Author. Bewize the Lover. Bewize the Student. Bewize the Band Nerd. Bewize the Cat-Owned.

These are all faces that you'll see carved into me, if you look at the right angles, with the perfect squint to your eyes. I wear them proudly - and so many more.

But, the faces of my life that I want to see (figuratively speaking, but I'm not above being a ghost) are the one that capture the values most important to me.



Bewize, chosen to represent Honor. She did her best to keep her promises and worked hard to be worthy of your respect.

Bewize, chosen to represent Integrity. She was true to herself and honest, sometimes brutally so, but she worked her whole life to learn how to speak Compassionate Honesty, Kind Honesty, and Caring Honesty more than the too oft-revered Brutal cousin.

Bewize, chosen to represent Loyalty. She would move mountains for the people she considered hers. She would stand with you, even when you couldn't stand anymore.

Bewize, chosen to represent Nurturing. She showed others how to move mountains on their own.



These are my ideals, not my reality, alas. I'm all too human, all too flawed. But, that's okay. I've got the rest of my life ahead of me, and I'm armed with dynamite, jackhammers, and determination.


What values will someone carve into stone to represent you someday?




This entry was written for therealljidol 02: "Mount Rushmore." If there is voting, I will share the poll. Thanks.