During my last trip to the Smoky Mountains, we stopped at Clingman's Dome, the highest point in the Smokies at 6,643 feet above sea level. Walking through the parking lot we came across a paved walkway leading to the dome. Ahead was an incline, gradual at first but somewhat steeper further up the path. The walk was leisurely paced, but after awhile I started to feel the climb might be a bit more than just a casual walk.
We came across benches along the path. The first thing everyone noticed was smiles on the faces of people walking down the hill and frowns on people making their way up. The incline continued to increase and constantly curved to the right. It seemed as we reached the top of a curve, a steeper curve opened before us. Finally asking someone, I was told the total distance was about six tenths of a mile to the dome.
The ground finally leveled off a bit and opened up into a clearing, setting us in front of a tower 54 feet in height, with a circular concrete ramp. As we reached the top platform it seemed as if all of the Smokies opened up right before your eyes. You saw mountains and valleys in all directions. I couldn't even begin to think of words to express what laid before us. I heard other people's remarks......"God's work, God's country, beauty at it's finest, nature unchecked." Everyone had something different to say, everyone having a different view or thought. You could also sense that no one wanted to leave but we knew we had to, for the amount of people coming behind us was increasing.
Now it was our turn to encourage those coming up, smiles on our faces and frowns on theirs. We were about three quarters of the way down when we came across a young girl in a wheelchair with two young men pushing her up the path. They seemed to be in their early to mid 20's. I don't know what she was stricken with but you could see she had been in the wheelchair for sometime. They came alongside us at one of the first benches and we stopped as she was sort of arguing with them.
You could hear her telling them they didn't have to push her up the hill. They told her they were her friends and they had something to share with her. She continued to argue why they shouldn't and they in turn argued why they should. Turning to us you could see the look of frustration on her face. She looked for help in her argument, a tear forming in her eyes. We told her they have a special gift for her at the top of the hill, and that she had a couple of pretty special friends. She then hugged them and said she's known that for a few years now, and she would be lost without them.
Her two friends then looked at each other and asked if each was ready. Agreeing they were, they each grabbed a handle of her wheelchair and continued their climb. As we stood there, you could see others were stopped and watching the three as they started to dissapear around the curve. Tears could not be hid on some faces, even though everyone was now smiling.
The above story, which we witnessed on my last trip to the Smoky Mountains is true. I passed the turn-off to Clingman's Dome a few times while driving through the park, but never stopped. For some reason, while driving back to Cherokee from Gatlinburg, the turn was taken at the last second before we passed the spur again. It was late in the afternoon, but we were able to make the trip before dusk. Looking back at what we witnessed we are thankful we made the decision to view the Dome when we did.
The Smoky Mountains is enjoyed by millions of people year round. You can find beauty throughout the region. In the setting of this page it formed the perfect background for this story. The way this was written, you can notice that except for the sexual gender of the girl and her two friends, there are no other adjectives describing any of the people we met that day. This is why the story may touch the hearts of many who might view it.
No hatred or bigotry can develop viewing this story. No nationality or decent is mentioned. There is no description as to race or religious creed, or to a certain group or class of people. Unfortunately if I presented any of these facts, chances are this story might not appeal to some. We are entering a new millenium and we enter with the same hatred and bigotry that crippled us in the past century. We might have come a long way the past few decades but we are still failing.
To this day I have harbored such feelings myself. Having served in Vietnam mine are directed at it's people. My father had these same feelings toward the Japanese as well as most of my uncles' sentiments towards Germany. Feelings like this come from personally witnessing the destruction and loss of life due to war and will continue as long as war is waged between two countries or more.
The hatred and bigotry that cripples this country is the type that is taught us during our childhood. Many of us don't truely hate a particular group of people. We don't discriminate against any person because of his faith or color of his skin. Instead these feelings were passed onto us by other family members or friends. We learned to hate through them. This is the main reason for bigotry today, and until we realize this it will continue no matter what we do to try to prevent it. "We" are the cause and "we" are the solution.
We need to stop showing hate in view of our children. We have to stop any racial slurs and accusations we might have made in the past. Children form opinions just by hearing what we say or watching what we do in everyday life. It does not matter if we are raising children ourselves or know them as a relative or friend. When we come into contact with children we are all teachers, and many things we say or do are a part of their education.
I am but one of countless people who have heard many words of wisdom in the course of my lifetime. "Beauty is only skin deep, love is in the eyes of the beholder, don't judge a book by it's cover," are but a few of the many sayings that can be recited by heart. How many of us actually make any of these teachings part of our lives? Do we try to live by these words? Do we at least try to live by the "golden rule?" Can any of us who do try to live by these words apply them to everyone?
When we think in terms of everyone, it should mean every person. No one should be treated any differently because of their race, creed, or nationality. This is how it should be but unfortunately it isn't. This practice leads to the bigotry we have today, and we become blind to the feelings of others.
Time is short but precious. With the blink of an eye our children aren't children anymore. It will seem as if they grew into adults overnight with thoughts and views of their own. When you hear their thoughts and views, compare them to yours. If you don't like what you hear or see, go back and reflect on the lesson plan you used to teach and raise them. It's never too late to change it.
