Can flat be dramatic?

Indiana

October 29, 2009

Can flat be dramatic?

Usually "dramatic" is given to landscapes such as sweeping mountain ranges, cascading water falls, or roaring oceans. Not flat...

Driving through Indiana, everything is flat. Everywhere you look...miles and miles of flat. No mountains, no water. The only thing is endless miles of CORN, endless miles of golden corn. Now before you yell, "Boring!" I beg of you be a little open-minded, for it is far from boring. So what then exactly?

Charming?

Daunting?

Dramatic?

Yes, yes, and yes.

So it's family road trip time! Yes, the four of us are taking a road trip together. It's me, mom, dad, and brother Teddy. Road trips are bonding times for us. We share family memories, stories, and lots of mochas. McDonalds has brought monopoly back so hey even more reason to stop at America's favorite fast food chain. If you know me, you know I don't love McDonalds, but remember that on a road trip, family votes comes before individual, and while their mochas aren't starbucks, it' still caffeine - the nectar of life.Yeah...

Anyways

This was my first time in the Midwest. I have driven in this area before, but this was my actual first time staying here. So embarking on this road trip, I was overly excited, and curious. This was a part of the US I had yet to explore. From NC, we passed through Virginia (through which I slept most of the way - sorry, Virginians - it was 4am); West Virginia (got to see the beautiful capitol building in Charleston); oHIo (the flat land began there) and finally we reached Indiana! I had NO idea what to expect, nothing, nada, zippo! So when the landscape whizzing by me turned to golden corn fields dotted with gorgeous barns and silos, I immediately whipped my camera and my journal out. This was a quintessential American experience!

As we drove, the corn did not stop. It just kept on coming. (Now I knew why when I bough

t popcorn it frequently said, "Product of Indiana." What else were they going to do with all of those kernels?) The corn began to grow on me. The color was astounding: golden brown for miles. Farmsteads, made up of two storied farm houses surrounded by white fences with giant barns and silos looming alongside, kept watch over these golden lands. That was another thing that's beautiful up here: the barns! They were massive! and Beautiful. I was absolutely loving the barns. Art in their own way. They stood out defiantly amongst the gold in colors like blood red or gleaming white. Could it possibly resemble something to war of the barns? Red vs. White...which color holds more dominance in these lands? Well, i'll have to consult the Amish. We were in their territory now. It was nothing to be driving down the road and see a horse and buggy headed in my direction. In fact, they got their own lane along the roadway. Now that's power!

I've got friends in all the right places...not quite, but let's just say God has truly blessed me with friendships that scatter all over the world. We were invited to dinner by friends who live in Etna Green, Indiana on our first night in this great state. Having never been there before, we got their address and put it into our forever faithful gps after we checked into our hotel. Getting close, we turned down a two lane road lined with cornfields. We were in the country, only a few homes, barely any cars, no commercial buildings. This was a haven in it's own way.

WELL, suddenly my fair lady (the gps) announced, "you are no longer in a recognizable area. turn by turn guidance is now being suspended." My dad pulled to a dead stop, and we stuck our heads out of the windows. Yeah, there was nothing out there but corn.

We stared at each other silently for a moment. OK, time to go back to the old fashion way. Mom quickly scrambled for the address and we continued driving looking for the street. (I do own a road map.) Thankfully, it wasn't too far down the corn stalked lane. We turned down what seemed to be an endless straightaway. Corn again was strad

dling both sides of the road. Ok no need to panic or anything, but it was starting to get dark, and cell phone service was sketchy. And there wasn't a sign of civilization anywhere. I couldn't help but roll down my window and soak in the glory of this evening. Despite us being directionless and completely surrounded by nothing but corn, the feeling of being out there was beyond intoxicating. For a moment there was something thrilling about the thought of being lost. No panic, no worry. Just peace. Of course, maybe I wasn't worried because I wasn't driving.

Well, Dad didn't have to worry for long, the corn came to an end, and we spotted a mailbox. We turned into the driveway hoping and praying we had found the right house. I mean you never know and we didn't want to knock on a stranger's door in the middle of nowhere, we didn't want to scare us or them. We sent mom and dad to the door as the sacrificial lambs. Mom started laughing when the door opened and we knew it was the right house.

After the greetings, I stole away again to take in my surroundings. Across from their home was a flat open field. Drinking in the cool autumn air, a sense of peace flooded through me. My senses perked up and I noticed some

thing. The silence. Have you ever heard silence? I mean you aren't suppose to hear it, but you can. You can even feel it. It's such a powerful movement, for it's so rare to have that when its present you must take notice. It demands your attention.

An interruption...leaves just fallen from the giant walnut tree in their yard rustled down the road. I stared up at the naked tree with its bare limbs jutting out in every direction like a crazy hair style wondering what it looked like a month ago before it shed its brilliant colors. Now the only color was the red barn behind it. You know the scene wouldn't be complete without a barn. Like everywhere else it stood out in the landscape almost like a beacon of hope. With the cold and the darkness approaching, there was warmth and light there.

I turned and looked back out over the field. Clouds hung low in the quickly fading gray autumn sky. It was an open field, a giant open field, and it was breathtaking. It wasn't a vast mountain range and it wasn't a rushing waterfall, but it was capturing my attention all the same. This flat open field, like many I had seen all day was amazing me. Something so many would view as mundane was giving me sheer pleasure.

So why? I had seen countless fields before, but I had never asked myself this question before. I had never really opened my mind to view it as dramatic before. In the past, I had simply glanced it over, ignoring it. But this open field was God's creation just like that giant mountain or the roaring ocean. It was another masterpiece by the greatest Artist of all.

So can flat be dramatic?

Yes, my friend, I think it most definitely can...

Happy traveling ~