My Ron Franz

Ron Franz and I had been hiking up the trail for about 1.5 hours when we hit a crossroads. The last half-mile of the trail requires you to navigate a thin slice of ridge (only 2 feet wide) with drop-offs of 1500 and 800 feet on each side. Then, there's a 100-foot climb over a steep rock face to complete before you reach the summit of Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. Since 1989, five people have plummeted to their death on this portion of the trail. When we reached this section, Ron Franz looked back at me, "Jennifer, it looks like you have two choices. Are you going to choose courage or sensibility?"

Ron Franz was not really his name of course. If you have read the Jon Krakauer book or have seen the movie, "Into the Wild," then you will remember that Ron Franz is the name of the 80-year old man that befriends 24-year old wanderer Christopher McCandless. Hal Holbrook played Ron in the movie. Anyone who has seen the film knows that one of the sweetest scenes is when Ron offers to adopt Christopher before his tragic trip to Alaska. Hal Holbrook may not have had much screen time in the film, but his tender performance sticks with you long after the movie is over. So, when this older man asked me if I wanted to join him on this long hike, I instinctively said yes knowing that he would be my Ron Franz.

Ron had recently lost fifty pounds. About five years ago, his doctor warned him that if he didn't take better care of his health, his life would be in serious jeopardy. Without thinking twice, he made some immediate lifestyle changes starting with exercising and eating better. When I asked Ron if he would be able to handle the steep inclines, he pointed to his knees, "They're made of steel now! Got 'em both replaced. Good as new!" A year or so ago, Ron had both knees replaced and focused every ounce of energy on physical therapy. During his rehabilitation, he promised himself that if he got strong enough he would return to Zion to hike Angel's Landing.

He lives in Idaho, but he happened to be in Utah this week for the World Senior Games. He figured since he had a day to kill before his racquetball event, he would hike more than a thousand feet up one of Zion's toughest trails. On our way up, he made one request, "Just make sure I don't have a heart attack." I said that sounded fine as long as he made sure that I didn't fall off the ledge.

Along the way, we talked, we rested, we talked some more, and we took lots of pictures. An amateur photographer, Ron advised me that when taking a photo with people in it, never place them in the center of the picture: "The people are oftentimes the least interesting thing in the picture."

When Ron asked me if I was married, I changed the topic: "So, what do you do for a living?" Ron is a music engraver. When he asked me if I had children, I replied, "How many kids do you have?" He has two kids and five grandchildren. There was a moment where I thought that he might be a widow too since he had not mentioned a wife. I was actually about to open up about Cindy, when I learned that his wife was, in fact, alive. However, she was in poor health condition.

Unlike Ron, she responded to her doctor's health warnings by abandoning all hope of getting better. She continues to eat food not recommended for diabetics and refuses to exercise. "I just don't know how to convince her not to give up," Ron stated as we walked up the steep switchbacks. "We used to do stuff together. Now, it's just TV and potato chips. It's like she's just biding time until the end."

I asked Ron, of all the places he could try his new knees out on, why he chose Zion. He pointed to the rock formations, "I don't think we can ever fathom the amount of time it took to build these canyons. I just wanted to be part of eternity." In my mind, I contemplated the forces that brought me to Zion of all places.

During our lunch break on Scout Lookout, we talked about faith. A former devout Mormon, Ron explained to me the spiritual crisis he went through after 9-11 and the ostracism he encountered from within his own community when he started openly questioning things. "Between me and you Jennifer, now that I am retired, I regret the amount of money I gave to the church. And for what?"

Although I did not share this with Ron, I have been questioning many things myself since Cindy was taken away from us all. She was one of the good ones. I still can't accept it. There was so much more she wanted to do. She wanted to be a nurse. She wanted to write a Hollywood script with her friend Jamie. She wanted to open up a high-tea place with Liz. She wanted to know what the Barrett kids would grow up to be. She wanted to open up a Smoothie King with Rocky. She wanted to see Hamp finally marry Chris. She wanted to be there when Beth Boobs gave birth. And, I wanted all those things for her too. But, then she was taken away from us. Cindy. The sweetest, kindest, most loving person each of us ever knew. I'll never be able to make sense of it.

After I returned from the Summit an hour later, Ron put his arm around my shoulder: "Well, it looks like you chose courage Jennifer." I smiled. "I don't know about that Ron. I just wanted to keep going."

During the journey back, Ron expressed relief that I did not fall off the landing. I replied by thanking him for not having a heart attack. I also thanked him for waiting for me on the Lookout while I left him to complete the scary part of the trail. Ron smiled, "Of course. We were a team and you helped me get as far as I did. I completed my goal and now I can brag about it to my physical therapist." When Ron asked if I wanted to come see him play at the Senior Games. I could tell it broke his heart a little when I turned him down.

Nearing the end of our hike, I did reveal one fact about myself to Ron. When he asked what I do for a living, I mentioned that I help people build Web sites, to which he enthusiastically responded, "I built one too! I placed my wife's music on it [she plays piano]. I just wanted to give her an immortality, you know?" I told Ron I knew exactly what he meant.