Into The Wild Page #6

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Check this out. Tawdry?

Denise, that sounds like your cup of tea.

That poor girl is about ready

to vault herself onto a fence post.

And here you are,

the monk of Jack f***ing LaLanne.

- So Jan talked to you about Reno, huh?

- Yeah.

- So Jan talked to you about Reno, huh?

- Yeah.

Children can be pretty harsh

when it comes to their parents.

You planning on seeing yours?

I've only got one plan, Rainey.

That would be Alaska?

Alaska.

Hello?

- Merry Christmas.

- Come in here.

My parents went into town.

No.

Yeah. They went to call my grandma

for Christmas.

No, I mean we can't do that.

Why not?

How old are you?

Eighteen.

Seventeen.

What year were you born?

So I'm 16.

You want to do something together?

You can send mail to this address

in South Dakota.

I don't know when I'm going to get it,

but I'll get it.

You're pretty magic.

- Yeah?

- Yeah.

And just remember

if you want something in life,

reach out and grab it.

- You take care, kiddo.

- You, too.

- New Year's resolution?

- We'll work on it.

Just get your pack

and get on out of here, okay?

I don't think I could take a hug.

Hey.

Bye!

A year and a half had passed in what

Dad called "suspended animation."

The weight of Chris' disappearance had

begun to lay down on me full-length.

"I have lived through much,

"and now I think I have found what is

needed for happiness.

"A quiet secluded life in the country,

"with the possibility of being useful to

people to whom it is easy to do good,

"and who are not accustomed

to have it done to them.

"And work which one hopes

may be of some use.

"Then rest, nature, books, music,

"love for one's neighbor.

"Such is my idea of happiness.

"And then, on top of all that,

you for a mate,

"and children perhaps.

"What more

can the heart of a man desire?"

Comes the morning when I can feel

That there's nothing

left to be concealed

Moving on

a scene surreal

But my heart will never

Never be far from here

Sure as I'm breathing

Sure as I'm sad

I'll keep this wisdom in my flesh

I'll keep this wisdom in my flesh

I leave here believing

More than I had

And there's a reason I will

A reason I'll be back

As I walk the hemisphere

I got my wish to up and disappear

I've been wounded

I've been healed

Now for landing I've been

Landing I've been cleared

Sure as I'm breathing

Sure as I'm sad

I'll keep this wisdom in my flesh

I leave here believing

More than I had

This love has got no ceiling

Where's your camp?

Just out past Oh-My-God Hot Springs.

I've lived in and around here

for six years now

and I've never heard of any place

that goes by that name.

- Show me how to get there.

- Yeah.

- Ron Franz.

- Alex.

Alex? Where you from, Alex?

- West Virginia.

- Okay, Alex from West Virginia.

Well, this is something out here.

Don't you...

Don't you worry about those dope

smokers and nudists down below there?

No, they keep to themselves

pretty much.

You strike me as a bright young man.

Am I wrong about that?

I think I've got

my head on my shoulders pretty good.

Well, that's what I mean.

How long you been out here?

- Couple of weeks.

- And before that?

A lot of places.

Been moving around a lot.

- Well, how old are you?

- Twenty-three.

Twenty-three years old!

Son, don't you think

you ought to be getting an education?

And a job?

And making something of this life?

Look, Mr. Franz,

I think careers are a 20th century

invention, and I don't want one.

You don't need to worry about me.

I have a college education.

I'm not destitute.

I'm living like this by choice.

- In the dirt?

- Yeah, in the dirt.

- Where's your family?

- Don't have one anymore.

That's a shame.

Hey, Mr. Franz,

I want to show you something.

Come on.

Come on.

It's getting a little steep.

A little high for me, kid.

All right,

but even from halfway out,

it's quite a sight, isn't it?

From the top, you can see all the way

to the Salton Sea, too.

You can see the Salton Sea

from up there?

Yes, sir.

My goodness.

- You don't want to go up?

- Nope. I don't do these kind of things.

I spent most of my life in the Army.

New Year's Eve, 1957,

I was stationed in Okinawa.

My wife and son were here in the States

just driving down the road,

and some fella who'd had too much

to drink plowed right into them.

Killed them both.

Now you might think

the last thing I would do in the world

is go to the whiskey.

But at the time,

it felt like the only thing I could do.

And I did it hard!

But pretty soon I realized

I wasn't doing my wife and son any good

mourning them with the bottle.

So I pulled myself together

and I quit drinking,

cold turkey.

So since all that, this is pretty much me.

Do you ever travel, Mr. Franz?

No, I can't seem to get too far

from my leather.

I do a lot of leather engraving.

I got a little workshop out in the garage.

Between that and my pension,

I do pretty well.

But every time I think

I might take a trip somewhere,

I get too far behind on orders and such

to consider it.

When we finish eating,

I'd love to see your workshop.

- Would you?

- Oh, yeah.

I was hoping you'd say that.

- It's amazing how malleable this is.

- Yeah, it is.

When the leather is wet you can really...

- It's like butter.

- Yeah.

It's amazing. And then it hardens up,

and, I mean, it stays right there.

A good whack with the mallet.

Crack it down. Whack. Bang.

I went to South Dakota.

I worked at a grain elevator

for this guy named Wayne.

He was a really good guy.

So I took the Colorado River

all the way down through

the Grand Canyon and did rapids,

which is by far one of

the scariest things I've ever done.

And I took the Colorado down into

Mexico, Golfo, where I got stuck.

Salvation Mountain. The Slabs.

What's the "N" stand for?

North.

Alaska?

Son, what the hell

are you running from?

You know, I can ask you

the same question!

Except I already know the answer!

You do, do you?

I do, Mr. Franz!

You got to get back out in the world!

Get out of that lonely house,

that little workshop of yours.

Get back out on the road! Really!

You're going to live a long time, Ron!

You should make a radical change

in your lifestyle!

I mean, the core of man's spirit

comes from new experiences.

And there you are, stubborn old man,

sitting on your butt.

- Sitting on my butt?

- Yeah.

I'll show you sitting on my butt!

"Stubborn old man."

I'll show you!

Come on, then! Come on.

Sitting on my butt? Yeah.

Come on, old man. Come climbing.

Sitting on my butt.

Come on. Keep going!

You're doing great!

- Keep going. Keep going, Ron!

- Yeah!

Can anybody see this?

God, are you watching this right now?

Yeah.

- You all right?

- You little pinhead!

I'm gonna miss you when you go.

I'll miss you, too, Ron.

But you're wrong if you think

that the joy of life comes principally

from human relationships.

God's placed it all around us.

It's in everything.

It's in anything we can experience.

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