Latest / Illinois Valley - Shaw Local / Paperwork: I own my own bit of land, but not the larger space we all call home

Transcript

Paperwork: I own my own bit of land, but not the larger space we all call home · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

• 0:05
  Paperwork. I own my own bit of land.
• 0:07
  But not the larger space we all call home. This
• 0:13
  article is being read by an automated voice brought to you by
• 0:17
  Everlett. EP4, Preston's Journal about Owning Land. That's what
• 0:23
  I wrote down. I was watching the Madison. I was still trying
• 0:26
  to decide if this T V drama was a keeper. Yeah, I'll
• 0:30
  watch one more episode, I kept telling myself. Something was pulling me
• 0:33
  in path past the screaming and angst of a family shredding relationships
• 0:37
  that already were slit and torn. This series is a deep dive
• 0:41
  into mourning that includes dissecting love, relationships, marriage, and parenting. But in
• 0:47
  the background is breathtaking beauty, the mountains of Montana and the Madison
• 0:51
  River, A Slice of Heaven if you love nature, and fly fishing.
• 0:56
  The characters in the story are had
• 0:57
  to like, but I suppose that's the point. What kept me watching
• 1:01
  was an undercurrent theme enhanced by the scenery. This was to be
• 1:05
  expected from a script written by Taylor Sheridan, who also gave us
• 1:09
  Yellowstone and its prequels. All were great stories immersed within enduring environments.
• 1:15
  The Madison had to be a labor of love for Sheridan, who
• 1:17
  loves Montana, as does Preston, the main character, a wealthy man who
• 1:22
  escapes New York when he can to join his brother in a
• 1:24
  cabin they built near the river where the challenge each other, and
• 1:27
  the trout they tease. The lot lines are tangled around Then death
• 1:31
  of both men in a small plane crash in the first episode.
• 1:35
  Preston's wife, Stacy, had no interest in moving to Montana, despite his
• 1:40
  efforts over the years to persuade her. Now she would see for
• 1:43
  herself as she and her family go to the river valley to
• 1:46
  claim the bodies and make final arrangements. She soon realizes there was
• 1:50
  a lot about her husband she didn't understand. Then she discovers Preston's
• 1:54
  journal and begins to learn and explore. A close friend from New
• 1:59
  York comes to provide support. While sharing coffee percolating on a rustic
• 2:02
  stovetop, minus the luxury of creamer, Stacy reveals the
• 2:06
  journal:
• 2:07
  This is where I paused and made that note, knowing I would
• 2:10
  reread this scene Land. Probably write about it. This is what Taylor
• 2:14
  Sheridan is good at. Buried in plot lines are little essays that
• 2:18
  feel like the pounding heart within the program. The dialogue between Stacy
• 2:23
  and her friend unfolded like this? What is that? Preston's journal, Stacy
• 2:28
  said. He started it when they bought the place. Twenty years ago?
• 2:32
  Mm longer, Stacy says, then reads from the journal. For the first
• 2:36
  time in my life, I own land. Not a building or apartment.
• 2:40
  Land. Unlike the other two, which feel more akin to a gopher
• 2:43
  occupying a different hole, I'm a steward now, solely responsible for how
• 2:47
  much this land changes or how much it stays the same. Best
• 2:50
  I
• 2:50
  can hope is be a benign nuisance to this place. Man's goal
• 2:54
  in society is to be remembered. In nature it is to be
• 2:56
  forgotten unnoticed. Leave as little proof I was here as I possibly
• 3:01
  can. That will be my gift to this place. Stacy tells her
• 3:05
  friend she can stand by the river and feel her husband. His
• 3:08
  soul is here, she says, also noting Preston drew a map with
• 3:12
  an X marking where he wants to be buried. I finished the
• 3:15
  series and will watch the next season, because the one character I
• 3:19
  care about is Preston, who has died. But his voice is ever
• 3:22
  present, and I feel its depth in his journal. I want to
• 3:25
  hear more about the land. The small plot of and I own
• 3:30
  is important to me. I am blessed to have a space to
• 3:33
  call home. Isn't that what the American dream was all about? But
• 3:37
  I can't let go of EP four Pr Preston's journal. Owning land
• 3:41
  had special meaning for Preston. As he said, Perhaps my house is
• 3:44
  just another hole in the ground. The structures we build, the real
• 3:47
  foundations, are not concrete. I am just an imprint in soil, rock
• 3:51
  and water, planet Earth. Planet Earth is also home. A broad and
• 3:56
  beautiful home if you know where to look, but it does not
• 3:59
  belong to me. I cannot own the environment because in the end
• 4:02
  it will own me. And to borrow Preston's words, that will be
• 4:06
  my gift to this place. Lonnie Kane, retired managing editor of The
• 4:10
  Times in Ottawa, was also a reporter for the Herald News and
• 4:13
  Joliet in the 1970s. His paperwork email is LonnieKane at gmail.com. Or
• 4:19
  mail the News Tribune, 426 2nd Street, LaSalle IL 61301.