Seeing Slide Rock is understanding why native Americans worshipped the land.
"where the statue stood
Of Newton with his prism and silent face,
The marble index of a mind for ever
Voyaging through the seas of Thought, alone."
-William Wordsworth
A few minutes down, a stream begins to pick up speed.
The roommate and I have played a few games now. Some in the afternoons and a couple at night over a beer. He is quite the gamesman or hobbyist if you will. Pool, Backgammon, chess and a guitar player. I imagine this variety of activity collects somewhere in the mind and branches out new innovative thought when challenged.
Everywhere in Sedona has a mesmerizing view. I had to pull over and snap this one.
He has lost four in a row now to yours truly. It definitely burns him up a little but our games are always good natured so their are no hard feelings. I am quite pleased with the way the games have gone. No major blunders or ridiculous endgame stupidity on my end and he has racked up only one blunder.
From the same place on the road. The curvy mountain roads are so tight they section off small areas next to red rock banks to pull over in case of an emergency.
The games have had a good pace to them, playing without the clock. Games seem to be a lot friendlier without the clock so I prefer it unless the situation is really competitive. But the speed is controlled and time is given on moves where it is apparent that it is needed. He clearly has as much experience as I do but his is further away, some lost to time.
Aaahhh a thousand or more feet down and we reach Grasshopper Point. So far my favorite place in the world. The water is clearer than it looks in the picture. The mountain streams form tranquil mini waterfalls that hush the sparse wildlife.
The latest duel we had happened on a Sunday afternoon. I turned on the military channel for added strategic emphasis. Their is nothing like hearing mortar rounds and rolling tank treads while duking it out otb. Its like a cross between eating chicken nuggets in the back of a pick up truck filled with crates of chickens and a civil war reenactment. Something about irony and simulacra.
A little ways down those rocks is the perfect place to chill and meditate on life.
He castled Queen side again which really freaked me out. He has done this in three of the last four games. It may have been a sneaky subterfuge at one point in time but now it just accelerates my attack. At some point it costs him tempo. Maybe at the end of the middlegame or the beginning of the endgame when an slew of pawns and major pieces are bearing down on the weakly fortified castle. Anyway, every time I see the Queen side maneuver I start pushing pawns and the game turns out in my favor.
This place has everything. Forestry, gentle streams, high red rock cliffs and strange unfamiliar plant life. Imagine discovering this after weeks through the desert on a horse.
Why does he castle Queen side? Does he fear a quick aggressive attack? or maybe hes giving room to his own pawns in an attempt to launch a siege.
A cactus eye view from Grasshopper Point.
The latest game was quite even in every way until we neared the endgame. I'm not sure where I read it, but somewhere it says that as soon as you enter the endgame begin moving your king up the board into the action. This has been my mantra and I think it has improved my game exponentially. Why its taken this long to learn such a simple trick is bizarre.
I think its a seasonal river bed. The sign says No Glass On The Beach and Animals Have Rabies. Hmm.
His biggest flaw is one that we've all faced at one time or another. Relying on a sense of vision that just isn't their. Maybe it once was, maybe your in the midst of learning it, maybe your mind is a cloudy mess for any reason. Once you start to rely on it, you begin to habituate your actions. If at any time the vision subsides the game collapses like a Chinese house in a snowstorm.
The city area of Sedona. A half mile of tourist shops on either side in a sort of old west nouveau style. I got some candies from "Grandma Horr's Cookies, The Best Little Horr House In Sedona." Who could resist. They couldn't.
I am not saying that one shouldn't or cant rely on it. I'm saying that we must be wary of the times when it will fail us. To have a contingency plan. To be able to fall back on a more alert, artistic way of game play when necessary. Not to submit defeat at the first loss of a major piece. Instead we should begin a new train of thought that explores pathways not yet seen. To explore true thought during the game, not just what you have learned. To open up intellectual perception at a moments notice, recognize that all realms of mind can be used to create new ideas on the board and to understand it, alone.
That little railing is preventing me from falling a very long scary death. The size of the bridge juxtaposed with the canyon can cause some serious vertigo. That trail down is for another time.
Looking away from the bridge the rocks have been waiting to taunt us for millions of years.
Sedona really ignites the spirit of nature and displays the smallness of man.
1 comment:
I liked these two posts a lot! Sounds like you found a home.
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