by Roger Ager
The western town never slept. It was very large and the glow of ten million lights could be seen in the desert sky. From eighty miles away, it brought to mind the northern lights of home. Entering the town for the first time was stimulating after days of travel through the empty desert. Lit up hotels that shot for the sky, people scurried, horns honked. Man made pools of water and lots of green trees; shows of human conflict and animals from the other side of the earth; ceremonies of fire, water, and electricity. Food, building materials and most other items were brought in from some other place.
What was incredible was that this town was not here more than 60 years ago. Gifts were given us by the residents with thought of future profits. People from most every place on earth came to the western town. They came to find God. We were told that God could be seen way in the back of a church. We entered the church and the place jingled with wonderful music. We walked past many worshipers sitting in rows, making offerings to God so that they may come to know Him. Inside a very thick glass alter at the very back of the church, our gaze fell upon the paper god and visions of sugar plums danced in my head. To the east lay mountains and more desert. Like a line in the sand, a great river left a giant scar on the land. Beyond other mountains east and south of the river was the eastern town. There was no indication we were coming to a town except the road map said so. The buildings were a very earthy color and no more than two stories high. If not for an occasional TV antenna or telephone pole, some could be a part of the rock they were built upon.
Green trees were few or none and there was no visible water on the land. People here got up with the sun and retired to their homes when it set. A lot of the food and building materials came from the very ground on which they walked. With utmost respect, I knew this town had been here for almost one thousand years. Gifts here were given to us in friendship from the heart. Some, but not many, have come here seeking God. I saw and felt God in the hills and valleys, the wind and sky, in corn and squash plants growing in dry soil, and in the morning dew in a seemingly water less land. Two places a short days travel by highway from each other, one small, one large; one old, one new; one rich in tradition and spirit, the other in worldly goods. Both share the same arid bio-region. Suppose the Colorado River dries up and the huge dams would no longer supply electric power. It's easy to know which will be merely inconvenienced and which will cease to exist.
Two places in the USA, both awe inspiring in their own ways. What a wonderful and diverse nation we live in. The Hopi people around 2nd Mesa, Arizona and the people of Las Vegas, Nevada; observations on winter vacation to U.S. southwest. Roger and Gloria Ager, Bill Behl. February 1999
P.S. The Vegas god was 1 million dollars in 10,000 bills on display in the back of a casino.