My Years as an Arizona tour guide
I spent several years in the mid 1970's as an Arizona Tour Guide. I had the amazing honor of witnessing people from all over the world as they stood, for the first time, on the rim of the Grand Canyon. Stunned into silence, as this sight can not be properly captured by a measley camera, previously chatty tourists fell into a reverie that I can only describe as divine communinion. I'm not a church goer. Though raised as a Catholic,I have chosen to live my life engaged in the world with my own personal connection to the Creator of all things. People at National Parks,especially the Grand Canyon, no matter their beliefs, all enter the open air cathedrals and all stand in awe of the power of creation. For this reason alone, our National Parks must be protected. They ignite a miniature revolution within each of us that pulls forward our humanity at its best. I had the honor, in my tour guiding days, to act as host to the late Michael Nadel, a gentle soul who was Editor Emeritus of Wilderness Magazine. He was a guest on my very first solo tour and we had many hours of amazing talks about the natural world. We were in a shop on the rim of the canyon and found a beautiful poster they used to sell there with a John Muir quote and that has stayed with me all these long years. Here it is:
"Light. I know not a single word fine enough for Light. Its currents pour, but it is a heavy material word not applicable to holy, beamless, bodiless, inaudible floods of light."
This would be a perfect quote to hear, read by Morgon Freeman, while your cameras sore through light and shadow into the canyon.
I look forward to watching your film. All the best
Mimi DiFrancesca Heberlein
mimidifrancesca@gmail.com
