Day 65: A Walk Along the the Jordan River, Salt Lake City

I don’t know how true this is, but I heard a story about how when Georgia O’Keefe moved to the desert, she had a type of revelation where God said to her something like “just paint this mountain everyday and I will take care of the rest”. I think it was during a period of great torment in her life. She wasn’t sure what to do. So for the rest of her life Georgia O’Keefe painted and God took care of the rest. Although I don’t know how true this story is or if I just made it up somehow, it is kind of how I live my life these days. I get out of bed, I book and promote my gigs, I write, I create and perform my music until I am too exhausted to do anything else and then I leave the rest up to God. I like to believe that every living thing is the same. We all have a gift we are given. If we cherish and nourish that gift as much as we can everyday, God will take care of the rest. We don’t remember to breath. We don’t make our hearts beat. God takes care of that.

I played at a cute little farmers’ market today. It is in a park in Salt Lake City. I played at this farmers’ market last year on my sojourn through Salt Lake City. It was late October and it was only 34 degrees; the coldest gig I have ever played. However, the people who run it and the customers who come were so good to me I just had to come back. It was raining a bit when I arrived. “Hello” I said to a woman   I recognized from last year.

“Hello there! Great to see you again! Let me get you some help” she responded gleefully.

A man named Galein helped me out. “Hello” he said to me “I am so glad you are here. I usually play at this market, but I need a break. What do you need from me?” he asked.

“ Well, I usually run on battery power, but my battery broke, so I’ll need some electricity. Also, it’s raining and I don’t travel with a canopy, so some shelter would be great” I told him. 

“No problem. I’ll have both of those things set up for you in just a minute” he said. And he did! Within 30 minutes I was up and performing at the farmers’ market.

It was a small market because of the rain. A lot of vendors had canceled and customers were far and few between. However, I played as if the market were full.  After all, I’m not in charge of anything except playing my music. God is in control of the weather and whatever else. I played for 4 hours with 20 minute breaks every hour. The vendors and any customers clapped for me at the end of all my songs. One vendor danced quite a bit in his orange robe. Some children danced. People tipped and bought CDs. By the end of the 4 hours I had accumulated enough money to make it all more than worth my time and effort. One vendor even gave me a skull sculpture that he made as a token of appreciation. What a beautiful bunch of people. I could see a man that I saw last year sitting under his tree.

This farmers’ market is in a park that is beside a river that runs all the way through Salt Lake City. The River is called The Jordan River, which is obviously a reference to the bible. I suspect the Mormons must have named it. The Jordan River runs 50 miles from Utah Lake down to the Great Salt Lake. In the park lives a man that I saw last year when I came through, when it was freezing. I dare not call this man “homeless” as he has made this park beside the Jordan River his home. This man is “house-free”. When I was playing here last year this man walked through the farmers’ market with hardly any clothes on, even though it was only 34 degrees. I was wearing just about every piece of clothing I own. He was wearing some shorts and that is all. I asked someone about the man. They said he has been living in this park since the 70’s. He’s from Germany or Scandanavia or somewhere. He sits under his tree in the park with his blankets and everyone goes about their lives around him. 

As the sun was going down I walked about a 4 mile section of the Jordan River trail, all the way to the fair grounds where the Salt Lake City state fair seemed to be going down. On the walk I saw many critters living their lives along the river. Muskrats swim in the river with sticks in their mouths to build their homes. Lovers walked hand in hand. Vagrants and drug addicts loitered. Beautiful painted murals and graffiti. Foot bridges over the river. Tunnels under roadways. It was a beautiful walk.

After the walk I opened my car’s back hatch to practice some banjo. It was dark by then. I sang “Wayfaring Stranger”, a song I’ve been trying to adapt for the banjo. In the song is a line “I am just going over Jordan, I am just going over home”. This is a reference to the River Jordan in the bible. I’m not super familiar with the bible, but I am pretty sure the River Jordan is an important element. As I sang I realized that the man who lives in the park had left his usual tree and was only about 50 feet from where I had parked my car. I am probably imagining it, but I felt like he enjoyed the song. This man is living his truth and God is taking care of the rest. How else could he be living in a public park for decades without police removing him or other unmentionable things happening to him?