Walking the Erwin Linear Trail
A couple of hours before sunset this beautiful October Sunday evening, I left my house and drove about 15 minutes east through the mountains to the town of Erwin, Tennessee, home of a wonderful recreational feature called the Erwin Linear Trail. It's sort of what it sounds like—a paved trail that runs in a line more-or-less parallel to I-26 in Unicoi County. Used to, you got on the trail near the McDonald's and followed it south for a couple of miles. It runs down through the woods, alongside a stream (Martin's Creek) and a small river (or large creek), through some wetlands. Now a section has been open that runs a mile or so north from McDonald's—alongside streams and natural ponds and through the woods. That's the part of the trail I wanted to try out today. I took that north-of-McDonald's section to the end and back—close to two miles—and then walked another mile or so (and back) along the southern section. Altogether, I walked for a little over an hour, covering close to four miles.
I forgot my walking music at the house, so I walked au naturel and thought of all kinds things—my wife and son, church, old friends who returned for a visit today, a struggling young couple with two children and a difficult life, this morning's music (which turned out really well and seems to have touched a lot of people).
But not all my thoughts were so light and breezy and positive, as those who know me might expect.
The setting put me in mind of a recent event near where I live—the arrest of some 40 men in two local parks on charges from assault and drugs to disorderly conduct and indecent exposure. The bottom line: these men were using the wooded areas—and possibly the restrooms—in the parks for homosexual activity. They met, probably in twos and possibly by chance opportunities, in a place they called "the Man Cave" and there did "whatever they do," as a friend of mine I know put it. How this place came to be established and known about, I don't know. It might have been via the Internet, or it might have been via hearsay, word of mouth (as the newspaper says).
As I walked the family-friendly Erwin Linear Trail, I met men walking or bicycling alone, walking or bicycling with their wives or their children, and I thought about the men caught in this recent sting operation. The men looking out from the controversial photo gallery published along with names and charges in the Johnson City Press and the men I was meeting on the trail looked the same, for the most part. I wondered what signal might be given to invite some sort of off-trail liaison. Would it be something subtle or something blatant? I wondered if maybe I'd been given the introductory signal and missed it because I wasn't looking for it. I've been offered drug contacts on big city streets, and those range from the not-so-subtle touching or snuffling of the nose to the outright question. Did these 40 and the possibly many, many more who didn't get caught communicate the same way?
So, 40 men went down in the sex sting, and their names and pictures were printed in the paper. I'm not sure I agree with the newspaper's handling of this. Certainly the park was the wrong place for this kind of behavior, but if they were to "get a room," then I would have to let go my desire to judge and let God handle it. The paper argues that the full disclosure of names and pictures was necessary to warn wived and girlfriends these men might have, but I'm fairly certain that these interested parties could have been informed in ways that wouldn't also have informed those with no stake in the matter. I know a lot of mean and ignorant people out there feel threatened by such men and would like to see them dead. One of the men, by the way, has already committed suicide because of this event the Press's publicity. The lives of most all are certainly ruined at one level or another—among them a local pastor and a man apparently teaching in the city school system; I've heard that a third man worked at the university where I teach. Were these men pedophiles, I might (or might not) condone such publicity. Their prey would be children who aren't able to defend themselves if lured into a compromising situation. But these men were, apparently, consenting adults, whose major mistake was to choose a public space in which to carry out their consensual activity. Certainly in this day of deadly STDs, these men's actions posed a threat to others with whom they were intimate, but those who need the information about their behavior doesn't necessarily include their neighbors and friends and coworkers . . . or me.
Another curiosity that played in my imagination was one particular old guy that was arrested. The ages ranged from 26 to 85, with most being in their 40s and 50s (around my age). But the 85-year-old! Whether this man was openly gay or not, what must his life since the early 1920s have been like? Probably he had gone to school with boys his age. Probably he had served in the military during World War II. Probably he had gone through a long career of working with other men. And then probably he had lived several years in retirement, with time on his hands, time to think and obsess.
Oh, well, enough of this. I made it out off the Erwin Linear Trail without incident, and I suspect that will always be the case there. Next time I'll take my music so that what's in my head will be as beautiful as the evening light and cool air through which I walk.
http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?Cat=HOMEPAGE&ID=60342
I forgot my walking music at the house, so I walked au naturel and thought of all kinds things—my wife and son, church, old friends who returned for a visit today, a struggling young couple with two children and a difficult life, this morning's music (which turned out really well and seems to have touched a lot of people).
But not all my thoughts were so light and breezy and positive, as those who know me might expect.
The setting put me in mind of a recent event near where I live—the arrest of some 40 men in two local parks on charges from assault and drugs to disorderly conduct and indecent exposure. The bottom line: these men were using the wooded areas—and possibly the restrooms—in the parks for homosexual activity. They met, probably in twos and possibly by chance opportunities, in a place they called "the Man Cave" and there did "whatever they do," as a friend of mine I know put it. How this place came to be established and known about, I don't know. It might have been via the Internet, or it might have been via hearsay, word of mouth (as the newspaper says).
As I walked the family-friendly Erwin Linear Trail, I met men walking or bicycling alone, walking or bicycling with their wives or their children, and I thought about the men caught in this recent sting operation. The men looking out from the controversial photo gallery published along with names and charges in the Johnson City Press and the men I was meeting on the trail looked the same, for the most part. I wondered what signal might be given to invite some sort of off-trail liaison. Would it be something subtle or something blatant? I wondered if maybe I'd been given the introductory signal and missed it because I wasn't looking for it. I've been offered drug contacts on big city streets, and those range from the not-so-subtle touching or snuffling of the nose to the outright question. Did these 40 and the possibly many, many more who didn't get caught communicate the same way?
So, 40 men went down in the sex sting, and their names and pictures were printed in the paper. I'm not sure I agree with the newspaper's handling of this. Certainly the park was the wrong place for this kind of behavior, but if they were to "get a room," then I would have to let go my desire to judge and let God handle it. The paper argues that the full disclosure of names and pictures was necessary to warn wived and girlfriends these men might have, but I'm fairly certain that these interested parties could have been informed in ways that wouldn't also have informed those with no stake in the matter. I know a lot of mean and ignorant people out there feel threatened by such men and would like to see them dead. One of the men, by the way, has already committed suicide because of this event the Press's publicity. The lives of most all are certainly ruined at one level or another—among them a local pastor and a man apparently teaching in the city school system; I've heard that a third man worked at the university where I teach. Were these men pedophiles, I might (or might not) condone such publicity. Their prey would be children who aren't able to defend themselves if lured into a compromising situation. But these men were, apparently, consenting adults, whose major mistake was to choose a public space in which to carry out their consensual activity. Certainly in this day of deadly STDs, these men's actions posed a threat to others with whom they were intimate, but those who need the information about their behavior doesn't necessarily include their neighbors and friends and coworkers . . . or me.
Another curiosity that played in my imagination was one particular old guy that was arrested. The ages ranged from 26 to 85, with most being in their 40s and 50s (around my age). But the 85-year-old! Whether this man was openly gay or not, what must his life since the early 1920s have been like? Probably he had gone to school with boys his age. Probably he had served in the military during World War II. Probably he had gone through a long career of working with other men. And then probably he had lived several years in retirement, with time on his hands, time to think and obsess.
Oh, well, enough of this. I made it out off the Erwin Linear Trail without incident, and I suspect that will always be the case there. Next time I'll take my music so that what's in my head will be as beautiful as the evening light and cool air through which I walk.
http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?Cat=HOMEPAGE&ID=60342
posted by mac | 6:30 PM
3 Comments:
The story of of the 40 men should be a reminder to all of us that there are so many who are lost, lonely, and hurting, and are willing to take a chance to find something or someone to let them know they are alive in a sometimes dark, cold, and lonely world.
As bad as it may seem to print their names for the public to see, it's a biblical principle that when we are exposed, it should lead us to restitution, healing, and hopefully, restoration. Sad thing is, as you said, many don't want to see healing or restoration. But this is what we ALL need! So many of us are never exposed (for whatever our sin may be)...and so we continue to live in that dark world and never come to receive the mercy, and grace, to be restored.
I hope that the Johnson City Press will extend mercy and grace, as well as the people of the area. To bring these men to a place of healing and restoration so that their lives will be a witness to the love God has for his all children.
Amen, Mark! Thanks for reading and responding.
Michael, thank you for writing about this tragedy. It is, as Mark says, so sad that people are so empty and alone that they seek the company of other people in a way that exposes them to public scrutiny and humiliation. We need to get down on our knees and pray for these men that they may have forgiveness and find the path that God has set out for them.
Until you wrote this, I was pissed off because men who behave it this manner make it difficult for those of us who seek solitude in quiet places. I have for a very long time want to go the park on Buffalo Mountain and find solitude in a peaceful stroll in that park. However, I have been reluctant to do that because I have heard that men pray on men in that park and that it is dangerous to be alone. That angers me.
However, because of you and Mark, it is possible for me to see that I should pray for these men rather than be pissed off about their behavior.
Thank you both, in peace, john
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