A Frontier Phrase Worth Resurrecting: “He Bubbles Pure"

 

[Excerpted from our book The Frontier Stoic: Life Lessons from Those Who Lived a Life.]

“He bubbles pure.”

·        Said of a man who stays solid, friendly, copacetic, capable in all situations.

·        In a land where water sources were few and far between and these were often muddied, slurried with cattle refuse, undrinkable alkali, or deliberately poisoned via a butchered animal left to rot in its depths…

·        Often water had to be reached via digging to the water table and filtering sand, silt and mud from the precious commodity using a shirttail as a filter.

·        In such a land, springs that bubbled pure clear clean water were valued at “a price above rubies.

·        In such a world, good companions were equally valued.

·        Men and women without grit, without merit without grace to face what was before them each and everyday added to the hardship.

·        In a modern world where a poor traveling companion who gets “hangry” on a long car trip…well, magnify that by 93 and put that “wannabe stalwart” under true pressure.

·        Can they be said to “Bubble pure” no matter the terrain?

·        Can it be said of you?

“He bubbles pure” can only be said of those whose dispositions who stay sunny even when it’s raining.

·        They don’t bubble silt and mud because of a spot of traffic, a news link to raise a fist at, a longish wait in the drive-thru line.

·        Springs bubble pure because that’s what they do, that’s what they are.

·        They may spring from the ground but they do not taste of it.

·        They do not take on its earthy qualities.

We find this sentiment likewise expressed in this phrase from Bacon’s The Advancement of Learning,

“The sun passeth through pollutions and itself remains as pure as before.”

May we all be that capable Man or Woman of grit.

That affable companion still smiling heartily noontide or night.

Rain or shine.

May we all bubble pure!

Resources for Livin’ the Warrior Life and Not Just Readin’ About It!

The Black Box Store

https://www.extremeselfprotection.com/

The Indigenous Ability Blog

https://indigenousability.blogspot.com/

The Rough ‘n’ Tumble Raconteur Podcast

https://anchor.fm/mark-hatmaker