A TWO-HEADED SNAKE
BY GAYLORD GUENIN
For the record, Lenado does not sit within the physical boundaries of the unincorporated community of Woody Creek. Of more import, perhaps, is the fact that Lenado shares a spiritual bond and philosophy with neighbors. But Lenado and Woody Creek are nit just tiny dots on various maps; both are states of minds,, slightly mythical places and those of us who liber here have accepted the responsibility of perpetuating those myths.
It creates a nice comfort zone- we can be politically incorrect, as we often are, as well as historically incorrect. Myths, after all, may contain bits and pieces of historical fact, but in most cases they are supersized t attract and maintain a reader’s interest. You might consider a myth to be something of a Big Mac with a double order of fries; it may not really taste all that good, nut its almost impossible to not become addicted to it,
Lenado itself does not seem to contain much in the way of mythology, which may have something to do with the fact that we also don’t have much in the way of a population. There are 12 inhabited dwellings in Lenado, containing no more than 20 residents on any given day. In order to create a good myth, you really need large groups of people sitting around campfires ex-changing stories, and it is also good if you have a steady stream of outsiders dropping by. That way they can toddle off to their own campfires and retell the story. Other outsiders may listen to the tale and they also will move on and re-peat, more or less, what they heard. In time, of course, the original story will become forever corrupted; thus you obtain a myth worth believing in.
BELIEVE WHATEVER YOU PLEASE ABOUT LENDADO AND WOODY CREEK AND WIILL CONTINUE TO GO OUR OWN WAY. AS LONG AS DEVELOPERS, DIRT PIMPS, AND THE GOVERNMENT BELIEVE WE ARE THE CANTANKEROUS LOT AND VERY DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH, OUR LOCAL MYTHOLOGY IS DOING ITS JOB.
There is one story kicking around that claims Poseidon actually lived in Lenado before he ran off to Greece and eventually had a submarine named after him. I’m not buying that one. Maybe it would be worth considering if the story contained some raping and pillaging, but it is pretty dull the way it is. So, what in the hell is the point of all this? No matter what stories you hear about Woody Creek or Lenado, you may not be dealing with factual information. And I really don’t care whether you are the recipient of fact or fabrication. That’s your problem! By the same token, many of us are more willing to defer your misconceptions, which is rather roundabout way of perpetuating a myth with out assuming the guilt of having lied. So you can believe whatever you please about Woody Creek or Lenado and we will continue to go our own way. As long as developers, dirt pimps, and the government believe we are the cantankerous lot and very difficult to deal with, our local mythology is doing its job.
As for campfires, the Woody Creek Caucus qualifies as our myth-building site. The Caucus, consisting of any Woody Creature who wants to attend, meets once a month and over the years it has been a source of many of our myths. The caucus might be viewed as a bizarre combination of amphisbaena, a mythological snake having a head at each end; a gremlin, a mischievous elf believed to create unexpected problems for humans; and a heroic young fisherman who preferred great knowledge to an offer of immortality.
So, it should be clear that if you intend to mess with the Woody Creek way of life, you are messing with mythology And I can’t think of anyone who wants to take on a snake with a head at each end.
