Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
John Muir proves to be
charming, eloquentBy John Berger
Special to the Star-BulletinIMAGINE meeting a stranger and discovering a fascinating personality. Lee Stetson offers Hawaii that opportunity as he portrays John Muir in "Conversation with a Tramp" at Hawaii Pacific University.
Muir was an early advocate of preserving wilderness areas in their pristine state, fought for the creation of the national parks system, and founded the Sierra Club.
"Conversation" takes place as he awaits word on whether President Wilson will allow the destruction of a river valley in Yosemite National Park. "What a strong voice gold has" Muir says of the power brokers who see financial gain in the scheme.
Muir quickly becomes a charming host. He speaks of his childhood in Scotland and on the American frontier, his feelings for his family, his respect for Theodore Roosevelt as a fellow conservationist, and of the struggle to preserve America's wilderness areas.
Muir is particularly eloquent when expressing his love of ancient trees, great storms, waterfalls and living rocks, and of the need to protect them from the "enemies of wildness."
His sentiments are as relevant in Hawaii now as they were in California almost 90 years ago. Muir touches both the heart and soul.
The small audience last night suggests that few people in Hawaii know who Muir was. Stetson's one-man show is a great opportunity to make his acquaintance.
ON STAGE
Conversation with a Tramp: Performed by Lee Stetson, 7:30 p.m. today and 4 p.m. tomorrow, Hawaii Pacific University Theatre. Stetson performs "The Spirit of John Muir" 7:30 p.m. Friday and March 11, and 4 p.m. March 12.
