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Liberty Valance and the Cactus Rose
So a friend sends me news from the desert! This picture reminded me of the cactus rose in Liberty Valance, a contender for the greatest movie made in America–or anywhere, John Ford’s finest statement on the arrival of the Declaration of Independence, of justice, the laws, and a lawyer (Jimmy Stewart) who teaches a girl (Vera Miles) to read (her Bible, to begin with), to dream of real roses, and to choose the future. But in the past, there’s this other man (John Wayne), who knows she loves the cactus rose–a hardy growth which is beautiful over against the sublime desert–deadly, indifferent to man, eternal. There’s always that lingering memory of nature. The beauty of the vast wild American West reminds us always of freedom.
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Published in Podcasts
The American West is a unique place. Titus and I went shooting in Arizona. He was on his American tour, and he was thanked by the range master for including Arizona for a visit. We drove up to Scottsdale by taking the two lane highway that takes you to Mesa from Catalina. There’s a lot of nowhere out there.
We met up with LC in Tucson and visited the Mission San Xavier del Bac.
There’s a lot to be said for the big nowhere. The following photos were taken from the patio of the Arizona house, with the exception of the photo that I took of the Mission. By the the way Titus is an excellent guest.
Thanks for the kind words, Doug!
I had forgotten how beautiful the white mission is against the blue sky…