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Along Life’s Way
Trail
Blazing
By Lois E. Wilson
In the poem “The Cow Path” by Samuel Walter Foss, a calf plodding home
through undisturbed landscape creates a twisted trail. Other animals
follow; people also trod the crooked path.
Over time, it becomes a well-beaten lane, then a village road, and
finally a crowded central thoroughfare of a city. Foss concluded that
in the 300 years since the calf created the trail, a hundred thousand
people took the zigzag route because it was there.
Main Street, to Americans from the heartland, represents a set of
values; it is a state of mind. The street may be only a few blocks
long, but in small towns it is where parades are held and people gather
to bank, shop, and perhaps eat at a local restaurant.
In early days, the affluent often built their homes on the east ends of
main streets. With that location, they could drive to work and back
home in the evening without the sun’s glaring rays blinding their eyes.
The Oregon Trail started as an east/west route. At its beginning in the
early 1800’s, it was passable by foot or on horseback. By 1836, a wagon
trail had been cleared to Idaho and later farther west to Oregon. The
California Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the Bozeman Trail used parts of
it before splitting their separate directions. Interstates 80 and 84
follow some of it on their westward courses.
U.S. Route 66, established as a highway in 1926, served as a primary
west route especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. Replaced by
interstate routes, it is now called Historic Route 66.
Such early routes were precedent. They were the cow paths of the
mind. Robert Frost in his verse “The Road Not Taken” observed, “I
took the one less traveled by, and that made all the difference.”
What happens if you don’t follow others’ well-worn paths? Are there
different routes to your destination? What happens if you are brave
enough to go forth on your own course?
Have the courage to assess the risks. Though there may be potholes and
barriers along the way, if you decide to become a trailblazer reaching
your goal will be rewarding. You will have grown in character, mind,
and soul.
You will undoubtedly feel a sense of pride. You may want to boast of
your accomplishments. Alan Simpson, former senator from Wyoming, at
President George H.W. Bush’s funeral gave us all something to remember.
He said, “Those that travel the High Road of Humility…are not bothered
by heavy traffic.”
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