Jewelry
Paintings
Photography
Sculpture
Pottery
story and art by
Mark Kneeskern
S
weet corn. That’s
the first thing that I
miss about Iowa and
the Midwest in general.
Sweet corn on the cob,
boiled briefly, lightly but-
tered and salted, with a grind
of pepper, is one of the
essential elements of my life.
Iowa corn fields. Green
everywhere. Trees and
rivers and dark, rich topsoil
2 feet deep. Many of the
people are like that too …
down to earth. They are
hard working and honest.
They know how to pickle
just about anything.
People’s mindset about
Iowa is strange. When I tell
people where I’m from, it
seems they start talking
more slowly for my benefit
and explaining simple
things very carefully. “This
is a cell phone … you can
talk to people far away.”
I met my friend Shaggy
when we were working as
painters in an art factory in
Des Moines. He’s from
small-town Iowa like me. So
we hit it off immediately
and became fast friends.
Then Shaggy moved to
Big Bend and began work-
ing on a trail crew in the
park. He told me I should
visit him. When I finally
made the trip, Shaggy gave
me directions and told me
that as I drove up the Basin
road I would pass through a
Dr. Seussville of upside-
down trees, punk cactus,
stony desert obelisks, a huge
rock house and Easter
Island figures down into
what felt like the crater of a
volcano. I thought he must
have learned how to exag-
gerate in Texas.
Iowans don’t tell tall
tales. They just don’t know
how. When they describe
the time they drank 20 shots
of whiskey, ran naked
through the grocery store,
then fell into a hole 50 feet
deep and woke up on top of
the town water tower, it
happened exactly like that.
When I arrived, I found
a true bigger-than-life-sized
model of Shaggy’s descrip-
tion. Hiking those moun-
tains in the heat of May was
my induction into the
desert. I saw lizards every-
where, swung from an old
dead tree, looked at infinity
from a vantage point on the
South Rim, saw a bear,
hung out with a trail crew at
the Boot Cabin.
I was in a kind of shock
as Shaggy showed me the
strange sights and took me
to Terlingua for a drink at
the Starlight Theatre. We
slept in sleeping bags out in
the open that night, near
some old desert movie
cemetery. I never dreamt I
would actually move here
and lead a mule train up
into that fantasy world of
the Chisos Mountains, get
stung by scorpions and have
parties in a ghost town.
I’m part of two worlds. I’ll
never be a true desert rat. My
blood curdles in that summer
oven. Then again, I’m not
made for the Iowa winters
either. How many layers of
clothing can you wear and
still be able to walk?
Big Bend has changed
me in some very important
ways and introduced me to
a whole new culture and
mode of living. I’ve learned
to be efficient with water
and almost everything else.
The Midwest also keeps
teaching me things. Part of
my summer is spent back in
my old Iowa stomping
grounds, and it still feels like
a haven. The desert is my
wonderful winter abode.
Turns out, home is essen-
tially anywhere I lay my
head. When it all boils
down though, two impor-
tant thing remains in both
the desert and the Midwest
– friends and turkey vul-
tures.
Iowa Corn
in Terlingua
A co-op gallery representing
Texas artists showing original
fine art and craft.
Old Town Square
N. 5th St. and Sul Ross
Alpine
432.837.7203
www.bbacgallery.com
C ONTEMPORARY W EST T EXAS A RT
401 N. 5th Street • Alpine TX 79830
(432)837-5999
Representing work by
Charles Bell • Karl Glocke
Ling Dong • Carlos Campana
Hours vary or by appointment
Art and Guitar classes • Weekend workshops offered
Hand-painted signs and graphics
Shop
Big Bend
Find out about
our great books
& superior service at
www.fsbooks.com
F RONT S TREET B OOKS
alpine & marathon 432/837-3360
Needleworks,
Etc.
Fine ladies apparel
121 W. Holland • Alpine, Texas
M-F 10 am ‘til 6 pm • Sat. 10 am ‘til 4 pm
432/837-3085
Cenizo
First Quarter 2011
25