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A BRIEF EPIC OF ECOLOGICAL EROTICISM:
PROGRESSIVE SOULMATES BOND IN BIG NATURE SPOTS

Dr (Ms.) Michael. S. Whitt

    Michael and Amanda left the campsite and the Chevy Van in which they had been sleeping in Cloudland Canyon State park. The park was nestled in the North Georgia Appalachian Mountains. They were excited. They were headed for the main waterfalls. They had heard from others who had already visited these falls that they are large and powerful.
    As they moved toward them, Michael commented, “It’s a beautiful spring day.”
    “It feels wonderful; crisp, and dry. I can’t wait to get to the main falls.”
    Michael and Amanda met when he was a master’s student in a class Amanda taught. At the time, her first marriage was falling apart. Soon after meeting Michael, Amanda joyfully left the marriage. Michael’s wife had Leukemia. She died a little over a year after he met Amanda. Although she was only three years older than he, Amanda was an associate professor with tenure and had been teaching at Auburn for four years. She also had a number of publications. Michael had resigned his job in the public schools to start graduate work. As a result of taking Amanda’s class and that of one of her colleagues, he changed his major. When he began, he intended to obtain a masters degree in health and physical education to teach and coach in college. Their classes re-focused his interest toward pursuing a doctorate in the interdisciplinary field of foundations of education. During the months his wife was hospitalized he read extensively with his future doctoral studies in mind.
    Michael’s shyness around Amanda came not only as result of her professional accomplishments. His shyness was also in the erotic area. She was a beautiful woman who was humbly aware of her stunning good looks. By the time she was fifteen she had started to love her body. She had a lot of help from lovers in achieving the latter.
    One young lover gasped audibly the first time they made love, “My god Amanda, you have the most beautiful body I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen plenty of them.” At that Amanda, although she tried to stifle them, she burst into peals of laughter with apologies and expressions of gratitude to the lover.
    Although she could not have known it, she might have guessed that Michael paced up and down the room every time he made a call to Amanda. He thought to himself, I just known she’ll reject me or she might. I’m not sure I could stand that. Maybe I could, but maybe I couldn’t. His heart was pounding as he made the call, and then, oh damn, she’s not home. Thirty minutes later he tried again. Now he was sweating. Whew! This time she answered in a lilting voice. She sounded genuinely glad to hear from Michael. His heart rate went back down.
    In the past few years Amanda’s beauty had deepened and intensified. At thirty-three she was 5’ 10 ?” and weighed one hundred and thirty pounds. Her breasts which she used to think were too small were the size and shape of elegant teacups. They were by no means flat. Amanda was highly aware that Michael’s vulnerability had to do with his ego. This was especially the case with making sexual moves toward her. Each time he thought about doing so, his heart began to pound harder than with phone calls. Had she rejected him, his ego would have been badly bruised. However, she refused to make the first move.
    Amanda knew he was on ego trip. She already had plenty of evidence he had inadvertently given that he was on an ego trip. One of the most telling was that at least once or more during any conversation in which they were involved brought about the phrase, “This girl I used to date,” a boast any sensitive woman would pick up on. Amanda could care less about any of these girls and let it be known loud and clear, although he seemed to overlook her pointed remarks.
    When the two arrived at the main fails, they were large and powerful, especially for falls in the southern most mountains of the southeast. However, there were people hanging out everywhere and they were not quiet. They were stumbling clumsily over the rocks beneath the falls. They were yelling at each other to try and be heard over the noise of the falls.
    “This isn’t the place we want to be.”
    “No it isn’t, Amanda.”
    The two surveyed the situation they were in. Back a few yards there was a sign which reach “For your own safety stay on the paths.” The couple looked at each other with knowing looks. They quickly stepped over the railing and were soon out of sight. They were descending around the curve of the mountain. They were on a quest for some secluded falls. After fifteen minutes of difficult hiking they found their falls. When they found them they were spectacular, far more wild and gorgeous than the first.
    Amanda said, “Michael look.” They stood on a wide rock looking at them.
    Michael said, “If I could choose to be anywhere it would be on this rock with a woman like you.” He no doubt thought he had made a super romantic remark. However, surprise, surprise, Amanda was far from impressed.
    Instead, Amanda stepped back with her hands on her hips defiantly, “What do you mean by a woman like me? There is a lot of wiggle room between a woman like me and me an actual flesh and blood woman.”
    The man’s ego had been pricked. Michael hung his head some and was silent.
    Then he said, “Yes. I see what you mean.”
    Amanda looked at him for a few moments and giggled. At length she said, “Michael, don’t you realize I have stronger feelings for you than I do for any other man to whom I am in relation or might possibly be in relation. The only competitor is a beautiful man of Cajun background who is married with children, but that never deterred us before. If we’re close, we’ll make love, but we’re not right now. He is in Louisiana. I’ll tell you about him sometime. You men can be so silly about the most important matters.” And she giggled again.
    “Gosh,” Michael responded. “that is truly GREAT to know, and I’d like to hear about this Cajun man. He must be something else to attract you when he is married with children” Michael took her hand and squeezed it. He smiled at her.
    Amanda replied, “Well, we’ve had a relationship since 1974. His wife got too bossy and violated him badly. I have a feeling that soon he’ll be divorced with children.”
    Michael had known Amanda long enough to know that she was the quintessantly water nymph, and With pride he told his friends, “I’ve never known anyone who loves water as much as Amanda. Whether she is in an ocean, the Caribbean, the Pacific, the Atlantic; or one of the crystal clear springs which cover north central Florida, and from which the myth of the Fountains of Youth comes; or one of the beautiful swimming lakes which populate the village of Frostproof from which she grew up; or in one of the beautiful streams in the north Georgia and North Carolina mountains, she is never more at her element than when she is in one of these bodies of water.
    Amanda was ecstatic at their discovery. She was dressed in hot pants and a crop top. Michael wore a pair of cutoffs and a tee shirt. They shed their garments and made intense love on the stone. It felt as soft as a grassy meadow as they were overwhelmed with love and passion. Later, they played like children until they were hungry. They went to their van and ate a luscious, cold mango. Later they had a light evening meal in a restaurant close to the park. That night, with the back door and all windows open, they slept soundly in the van. Later they realized they had been in the presence of divine natural forces that day. They began the process of joining them in erotic-spiritual marriage. This occurred independently of their conscious wills. Later Amanda wrote a poem, “The Goddess of the Waterfall.” The poem’s concluding lines amplify the significance of the waterfall event:

Nine months later for practical reasons
We needed society’s profane blessings for our union.
Oh how poor was this legal ritual compared to that of
The Goddess of the Waterfall and her entourage
What the Waterfall has united let no human rend asunder!

    This big nature experience happened on May, 1979.
    In early September they flew to Northern California, and the processes of marriage by Big Nature continued in other power places. Tuolumne Meadows is an Alpine area nine thousand feet above sea level in Yosemite National Park. While camping at a site just inside the park, they discovered the summer paradise. Michael and Amanda took down the tent and drove to the Meadows. They rented an $11 per night tent-cabin.
    In the late afternoon they set out to explore the meadows. Michael drove all along the road, and pulled over when he saw a spot with wild flowers growing everywhere. Amanda jumped out of the car, and with joyous abandon, ran into the sea of flowers. She did a “front over,” a maneuver she learned when she took ballet, tap, and acrobatics from age 5 to 11. It involves a hand stand and flip which lands one upside down, hands and feet supporting one. Michael caught Amanda with the camera just as she was going over. A little farther down the road, a more inviting spot, Snow Creek, beckoned to them. Flowers were thick. There was a brook, a cluster of several large rocks, and a redwood forest on one side. They decided to return to this place the next day.
    That evening they built a fire in the wood burner, and under army blankets, they made love and snuggled. The couple awoke cold at five and re-lit the stove. Although the temperatures rose to the low 80’s during the day, they fell into the 20’s nightly. The two went back to sleep until 7:30. Amanda and Michael dressed, ate breakfast at the dining hall, and headed for Snow Creek.
    The previous day they discovered the Meadow’s floor was soft enough to lie on without clothing. The two of them shed their clothes behind the rocks and lay on the ground for a while enjoying its softness. Then they explored the Meadows. Around the brook Amanda discovered a tiny garter snake. They picked a bouquet of wild flowers to decorate the tent-cabin. Their experience in this place brought further bonding and a poem. Called “Tuolumne Meadows,” its final lines punctuate the meaning of their time here:

In those beautiful meadows it was our superb fate to be
A Man and a Woman in Love—Naked, Unashamed, and Free

    That night by the warmth of the wood burning stove and blankets, they made love and snuggled with a much deeper sense of erotic connection. They left after another day; they could have stayed until the first snows drove them out, but did not want to miss Sequoia National Park. Sequoia had pleasant rustic cabins. Their second day there they found a rocky ledge which was positioned for a good view of the sunset. When they arrived their hearts sank, “Oh Amanda look at all of those people.”
    “I wish we have ordered a private showing of the sunset courtesy of Mother Earth and Father Sky,” Amanda sighed. In a few minutes the sun slipped below the horizon, and to their astonishment, all those folks left en masse. “Michael, am I dreaming? Don’t those people know that 99% of the best is yet to come?”
    “I’m glad we’re alone, but isn’t that ignorance sad?”
    “Yes. There were at least seventy people here while ago.”
    Michael and Amanda wandered around the ledge. As light began to fade, the colors they beheld were the most beautiful ever. When they became intense, the pair sat quietly ‘drinking’ them in. Pinks, purples, crimsons, wines, golds and other hues interplayed across the sky. At times they were so beautiful they brought tears to their eyes. The changing colors seemed to go on forever and caused wonderful feelings. Amanda was inspired to write a poem about this incredible sunset experience:

AN UNFORGETTABLE SUNSET
While on holiday in Sequoia National park one time
My love and I witnessed a sunset beautiful and sublime
We felt we’d burst with Love & Joy & Happiness
Pinks, purples, crimsons, golds, and many other hues
Danced across the sacred sky in a divine play that did renew
On and on the heavens those marvelous colors graced.
The minutes stretched forever as several eternities raced
Mother Earth and Father Sky united that evening
To give us quite a show
We are forever thankful for the depth-charging thrill
Of those gorgeous colors all aglow

    Toward dark Amanda noticed Michael looking to their right.
    “What is it?”
    “Come with me, Amanda. I want to show you something I learned as a child when we lived in New Mexico.” They walked for several feet. Michael picked up a few pebbles. “Watch this,” he said, and hurled a pebble into the air. He paused for a few seconds and then asked, “Did you see something dive at my pebble?”
    “Yes! What was it?”
    “A bat. I love them.”
    “That’s wonderful.” Amanda had another Big Nature show to enjoy this golden day. She threw a pebble or two. What was true of Cloudland Canyon was true of these spots. With the meadows, sunset, and bat show, the process of becoming soul mates was well on its way. Not that a good relationship is ever finished. It must remain open to novelties and embrace individual growth and expansion. It has been and will be renewed countless times during the years that they have together Michael’s shyness all but disappeared after these experiences along with his egotism. He wrote several poems which expressed his love for Amanda. All of them were beautiful and touching.

AMANDA
I was searching . . .
And amid the rush of the world
You came to me.
I am thankful for the mingling of our lives.
It causes a sweet smiling song in my heart.

I am thankful that I found you.
Flower of my life,
Amanda of my soul.
I love you.

    After they returned from California, the couple wrote companion papers which they presented in a general session at an academic meeting. These were later published in the journal sponsoring the conference. This was the first of many articles published in prestigious journals and papers presented at academic meetings. Amanda had the best publication record in the department, but her productivity increased with her soul mate there to encourage and criticize. With her help, Michael wrote a fine doctoral dissertation in which he pulled together much material with which they were working. All this led to a co-authored book.
    Each of them was a socio-economic and political progressive. Progressives see that society’s institutions are in constant need of reconstruction. If this does not occur, they become stale, arid, and rigid. They fail to serve the growth needs of their citizens. Before they bonded in Big Nature, it never occurred to them to get involved together in progressive causes. Afterwards, various causes received some of the energies they gained in Big Nature. In turn, being involved in these causes bonded them closer to environmental problems engaged them in efforts to keep the local ecology clean and balanced. ‘Think globally, act locally’ was a good motto for these efforts. They cleaned the litter off creek banks with the Campus Young Democrats, which Amanda sponsored. They reestablished the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, and lobbied at the state capital for women’s rights and other constitutional issues. They supported all measures that defended or expanded Roe v Wade, and opposed those which threatened it. Another constitutional issue for which they lobbied was opposing making ‘scientific creationism’ a part of the science curriculum. Those who took this position saw this as a violation of the church/state separation principle. Protests against Reagan’s foreign policy, especially with respect to Latin America, were other shared activities. Michael and Amanda participated in several local demonstrations. In July, 1983 they traveled by bus to Washington, D.C. to march with 20,000 other progressives to protest Reagan’s policies in El Salvador.

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