Saturday, September 22, 2012

Wide Open Spaces




Who doesn't know what I'm talking about
Who's never left home, who's never struck out
To find a dream and a life of their own
A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone

Many precede and many will follow
A young girl's dream no longer hollow
It takes the shape of a place out west
But what it holds for her, she hasn't yet guessed

She needs wide open spaces
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes

She traveled this road as a child
Wide eyed and grinning, she never tired
But now she won't be coming back with the rest
If these are life's lessons, she'll take this test

 
She needs wide open spaces
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes
She knows the high stakes

As her folks drive away, her dad yells, "Check the oil!"
Mom stares out the window and says, "I'm leaving my girl"
She said, "It didn't seem like that long ago"
When she stood there and let her own folks know
 
She needs wide open spaces
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes
She knows the highest stakes
 
"Wide Open Spaces" - Dixie Chicks

Happy Saturday to you!    This week's Five Minute Friday prompt was Wide.   Here we go.

Start

The first thing that popped into my mind with this word was the Dixie Chicks song "Wide Open Spaces."   This was my theme song for much of my senior year of college and the summer I spent working at Yellowstone National Park.   That summer my friends and I would hop into the car, blast the CD player as we headed out on a road trip or elsewhere in the park to hike.   

There is something about wide open spaces that appeals to me personally.    I first went to Yellowstone the summer after my freshman year of high school.  It was my first time west.  My first time seeing the mountains.   I was in awe and told my mom that I would move out west at some point.   When I was interviewing for jobs to start after college graduation I really only looked at places west of the Mississippi River.    I needed the space.

I moved to Yellowstone not knowing anyone and then three months later moved to Lake Tahoe again not knowing anyone.   I wanted my space.  I wanted a chance to make my own decisions.   People were shocked that I was willing to just up and move.    It was my chance for adventure, so I took it.  

Even now, when I travel, I look for space.   I like to visit cities, don't get me wrong, but the things that usually resonate are the wide open views.    The ocean.  A big lake.  An expanse of mountains or plains.    It's heartening to know that there are big beautiful places that aren't jam-packed full of people.

Stop

__________________
To participate in these scribing shenanigans either today or next week visit Lisa-Jo's page here on Friday (or Saturday) then write for five minutes on the topic she provides. Then you can post a link to your post on her page. Finally show some love to the person who posted before you.
 

3 comments:

  1. I loved that song too! :) You are brave; I too feel that sense of adventure. Thank you for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. The song is one of my faves, also. The greatest thing about what you are doing is that you will not have any regrets later in life. So many of us are jealous of your bravery. Thanks for sharing your story. Visiting from Five Minute Friday.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had to smile to myself because the first time I heard "Wide Open Spaces" was when a friend and I were traveling across China. It was wide, and open when you got out of the city. I now live on the wide, open plains. I tell my hubby the same thing....I am a western girl at heart (from AZ) so I really have no desire to go east of the Mississippi! Thanks for sharing.

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