We need to be Ernest. I am not a cryer but this brought me close. It is what we need to be as this utterly difficult election draws out. I love stories like this. Every valley, city, neighborhood has them and they need to be remembered. They matter and are what make me love all parts of this nation. The job now for us is to not let them be drowned out by the hate and ugliness that overwhelms our public space. This is the first thing I read today and am so glad I did. Thank you so much, Steve. It was much needed as a beacon for me to stay focused on what we need to do in these coming months.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story! Yes, we are the savior that we’ve been waiting for. We just need to rise up and stand for the values we have always believed in. We can save our country!
Thank you Steve, for sharing this wonderful and inspiring story.
We all especially now greatly need some reason to hope for a much better future for all Americans and for all of the peoples of this very troubled world, and this really eloquent article does inspire hope.
From Canada 🇨🇦 I hereby send all my warmest hopes to all of you and for all of us.
Please NEVER give up on people like Ernest, who truly exemplify the very best of you Americans, and of all of us. 🙏
Thanks for bringing g back a fave from my grade school reader. I loved this story when I read it decades ago, although I don't think I really appreciated the full context until this reading. There are plenty of Gathergolds and Old Stony Phiz's wandering the land these days. We could do with an Ernest, or with the honest men that the wannabe Great Stone Faces want to supplant.
Dare I say the Old Man of the Mountain in our story could be President Biden. A man of great experience, human frailties, the wisdom of age, with love for all the people of this nation, a leader who has gathered a team of capable ministers of government agency. An idealization, yes. Compared to trump and his cadre of villains ready to grab our country and rip it to shreds to be the ultimate and sole Mr Gathergolds more truth than fiction.
Character is indeed, today, what counts. My go to line, the short one, when confronted by MAGA warriors (mostly educated and comfortable MAGA men on the west coast) is this: This election is about Character. Not Trump’s character as we all agree on what that is. It’s about YOUR Character. You cannot be a man of high Character and support the ascendancy of this man who revels, absolutely revels, in the lowest character imaginable.
Dare I mention the old man's face broke off the mountain about 20 years ago, it's now unrecognizable. I didn't read your entire story, maybe it was mentioned somewhere.
That story being long enough to keep your comment section light, I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to get seen here by sharing something you and your readers can participate in. I keep suggesting here that we not only shake our heads at the nightmare of our political situation but deal with what we can do to get out of it, and this Essay Contest contest, with money prizes, is all about that: "It’s January 1, 2050. How, in 2024, did we pull off saving the world?" https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/p/an-essay-contest-its-january-1-2050
We need to be Ernest. I am not a cryer but this brought me close. It is what we need to be as this utterly difficult election draws out. I love stories like this. Every valley, city, neighborhood has them and they need to be remembered. They matter and are what make me love all parts of this nation. The job now for us is to not let them be drowned out by the hate and ugliness that overwhelms our public space. This is the first thing I read today and am so glad I did. Thank you so much, Steve. It was much needed as a beacon for me to stay focused on what we need to do in these coming months.
A very sweet story. I love Hawthorne, and you, dear Steve. Thank you.
Thank you, Bronwyn!
Steve
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story! Yes, we are the savior that we’ve been waiting for. We just need to rise up and stand for the values we have always believed in. We can save our country!
It seems the Old Man of the Mountain might not be recognizable much longer. We need more Ernests in the world.
Thank you Steve, for sharing this wonderful and inspiring story.
We all especially now greatly need some reason to hope for a much better future for all Americans and for all of the peoples of this very troubled world, and this really eloquent article does inspire hope.
From Canada 🇨🇦 I hereby send all my warmest hopes to all of you and for all of us.
Please NEVER give up on people like Ernest, who truly exemplify the very best of you Americans, and of all of us. 🙏
Thanks for bringing g back a fave from my grade school reader. I loved this story when I read it decades ago, although I don't think I really appreciated the full context until this reading. There are plenty of Gathergolds and Old Stony Phiz's wandering the land these days. We could do with an Ernest, or with the honest men that the wannabe Great Stone Faces want to supplant.
Excellent History lesson as always. Bravo!
Dare I say the Old Man of the Mountain in our story could be President Biden. A man of great experience, human frailties, the wisdom of age, with love for all the people of this nation, a leader who has gathered a team of capable ministers of government agency. An idealization, yes. Compared to trump and his cadre of villains ready to grab our country and rip it to shreds to be the ultimate and sole Mr Gathergolds more truth than fiction.
Or maybe a new, undisclosed and undiscovered person as wise as the Man of the Mountain is on the horizon....
Character is indeed, today, what counts. My go to line, the short one, when confronted by MAGA warriors (mostly educated and comfortable MAGA men on the west coast) is this: This election is about Character. Not Trump’s character as we all agree on what that is. It’s about YOUR Character. You cannot be a man of high Character and support the ascendancy of this man who revels, absolutely revels, in the lowest character imaginable.
This is a beautiful story. Thank you so much for sharing it.
An embarrassing reminder how much less fiction I read since the advent of "smart phones.'
How much less I have read, period. Never thought I would curl up at night with a digital text on a tiny screen, much less a podcast, but alas!
Thank you Steve, for publishing this beautiful story. If we could see the goodness around us.
Steve- John Fenimore Cooper wrote Last of the Mohicans.
:-) I don't think Steve said anything about The Last of the Mohicans being written by Hawthorne. The two authors were just on the teacher's list.
Wonderful
Dare I mention the old man's face broke off the mountain about 20 years ago, it's now unrecognizable. I didn't read your entire story, maybe it was mentioned somewhere.
That story being long enough to keep your comment section light, I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to get seen here by sharing something you and your readers can participate in. I keep suggesting here that we not only shake our heads at the nightmare of our political situation but deal with what we can do to get out of it, and this Essay Contest contest, with money prizes, is all about that: "It’s January 1, 2050. How, in 2024, did we pull off saving the world?" https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/p/an-essay-contest-its-january-1-2050