 |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||
|
A Tale of Two Alexanders June 9, 2008 By Stuart
Kent I've read
the tale, no, actually the true stories of two men, both named
Alexander, but with drastically different outcomes.
The first Alexander I read about in the book, Into the Wild,
by Jon Krakaeur which documents the decision and journey of a
young man who had graduated from Emory University in Atlanta in
the early 1990's. He chose to forsake everything--people,
possessions, money (he set fire to his last remaining cash) and
venture off into the wild part of Alaska to live by himself.
The end result
of his experiment was when moose hunters found his stiff, decaying
body in an old abandoned school bus. Alexander had either
accidentally eaten some poison plants, or simply starved to death.
He had made some simple mistakes concerning food, location, and
survival methods that cost him everything: his life. The author
interviewed those folks who had contacted him during the last
year of his life while he traveled towards Alaska, working odd
jobs and scrounging for a place to stay or eat. All of those
interviewed agreed on one thing, that the death of Alexander was
a waste. They could not believe that a young man with so
much potential, who was as friendly and happy-go-lucky could simply
throw away his life like he did. The second
Alexander, I am happy to report, did not choose to become a loner
or to live off in some remote island--he was a castaway.
In other words, he was chucked overboard a ship and left to live
or die on an island in the Pacific Ocean. The year was 1703,
and Alexander Selkirk would not be rescued for eight years.
The novel Robinson Crusoe was based on his story. After his
clothes rotted off of him, he stitched goatskins together, learned
to make fire, and overcame his fears and boredom by reading, praying,
and singing psalms. According to one biographer, Selkirk
stated after his rescue that, “he was a better Christian while
in this solitude than ever he was before.” In other words,
he survived, and he learned to depend on the God of the
Bible to survive. So, I present
to you two Alexanders, with two completely opposite outcomes.
One fellow chose his adventure; the other had no choice in the
matter, but did choose the more wisely on how to survive.
Alexander Selkirk reminds me of a man who once stated, Foxes have holes, and birds have nests But the Son
of Man has no place to rest. No matter
what adventure awaits me in life, I choose to follow the second
Alexander and lean on the Lord to sustain me, no matter what troubles
I get into. That's my plan to survive. © 2008, Stuart
Kent ----- Stuart Kent is an RN who writes in the balmy climes of the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. |
|||||||||
