Magic Bus

The above photo is of course from the film publicity (and book cover of some editions) for the excellent adaptation by Sean Penn of Jon Krakauer's book "Into the Wild", into a movie that captures beautifully the wild spirit of the book and the voyage of Chris McCandless into the wild and beyond, into the great void. I apologize, I don't know who took this photo, so I can't give credit where credit is due, but by all means go buy the DVD of the film so whatever royalties are due will accrue to the appropriate party... and buy Krakauer's book as well, for it is worth the reading time... and while I'm at it, buy his other books, because he is an excellent writer... I particularly liked Into Thin Air and Under the Banner of Heaven. Cautionary tales... The story behind Into the Wild was controversial from the start, many people derided Chris McCandless for venturing into the harsh Alaskan wildnerness ill-prepared for the ordeal, but looking beyond all of the debate, it is a stirring tale of a young man seeking freedom, adventure, intensity, and ultimately seeking, and finding his own fate. The old Fairbanks City bus dragged deep into the edge of the wild and left there as a shelter for hunters or other wanderers was inextricably linked to the story, becoming his deathbed, a sacred tomb of sorts.

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I took the below photo in the wilds of southern France near the city of Nimes in July 2007... another bus dragged off into a deserted place and left to die, the paint peeling off to reveal successive layers, the rust creeping; the thorny brambles climbing through the floor and windows all broken out. I did not look inside to see if there were any bleached bones...

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