The Big Picture

The CBS Sunday Morning interview was great for three reasons:

1. It was neat to see Dal out there walking around and not seeing a moose, and quickly checking a rock to not see the treasure. He was in a beautiful spot, though, and I think a well-chosen one. And he said the word "fun," which is, after all, where it's at.

2. It was neat to see the family "enjoying" their hike, throwing caution to the wind. "Press on, children, even though we can see you're terrified. And bored." One thing--if you're doing this for you, and your children are terrified or incredibly bored, something's wrong, in my opinion. However, I realize the media only provides a few moments out of the entire trip and the children may have been thoroughly pleased and had a great time on the trip. I understand the press is GREAT at catching you at a bad moment. I know there were two moments when Joe was a little terrified on our trip and if the media filmed those two moments, the world wouldn't have seen the entire picture, so I have nothing against that family, and I probably shouldn't have made the above comment, but I'm going to leave it there to prove a point.

3. The mine comment made me extremely happy. My solve wasn't a mine, but it was at the time of the interview, and it had to do with black widows.  I am very glad it's not in a mine.

Okay, now for the meat of the post. Forrest tells us to look at the "big picture." No one really knows what he's talking about. The big picture can apply to lots of things. Let's look at a few.

1. The big picture is really a big picture. Like the big pictures in TTotC. Yes, it could be one of those pictures. There's also a big picture on the Santa Fe website that I really like for it's aberrations. In my mind, Forrest wants to play catch with you on a carousel. The camera testifies to that, and you need to do some research and read The Catcher and the Rye to see why I think this. There are lots of interesting things in this picture: the camera in the upper right, not all the way up, but providing a bird's eye perspective.

You know how Forrest refers to robins ducking out of the way of BB's? That's because robins can "see" magnetism, and so can ducks. It's what allows them to migrate so precisely, and why homing pigeons are so accurate without maps. Who needs a map when you can see Earth's magnetism, which looks different in each direction? Maybe that's the bird's eye perspective we need.

There are the two paintings photoshopped in. Why those two paintings? There's got to be a reason, in my opinion. The statue of the Madonna and baby near the bottom is Romanesque,  like the chest. The thing to the right of it is a Hopi Capulin thing, maybe with a Catholic influence (not sure about that at all--I researched it, but it's 5:30 am and I can't remember). The cloth lying on the floor next to the Madonna has what looks like Morse Code. There are a couple of X's, if I'm not mistaken. There are gold coins (or maybe just price tags) in various conspicuous spots if you look close. The best way to see them is to invert the photo in photoshop to negative. The coins show up as a different, more obvious blue color. Then there's the cow head that looks like it has the mouth of an alligator, and the stone bear that looks like a stone beaver. And Forrest, holding the "ball," looking like he's asking if you're ready to play catch.

So, if you research a little, you will know how this picture ties into "the end is ever drawing nigh," and The Catcher in the Rye. This is just one theory I haven't yet followed all the way through. It might help someone though.

2. The big picture is a comment on life. We didn't get to see the big picture on the CBS story. Dal graciously posted to let us see behind the scenes, and the reason why they seemed to be hiking around without rhyme or reason. We didn't get to see the fun parts of that family's trip, where the kids were happy and not terrified or bored. Maybe we aren't seeing the big picture of Forrest's life, either. We're seeing what he's put out there, but maybe if we read his words how they're meant to be read, as a whole and in the right context, we will see the correct "big picture."

3. Maybe the big picture is the map. Maybe if we look at the map in context, examining ALL of it, we'll see more than meets the eye. I have questions about that map, as many of you do. There are obvious "mistakes" (or not mistakes at all) that weren't "fixed" on the second printing. I still maintain that "highlighted" can mean either the bright parts or the washed out parts, or both. The entire map is the treasure area, at least those that are in NM, CO, WY, or MT.

4. Maybe the big picture is nothing more than a movie Forrest may have really enjoyed that maybe embodied his perception of his world at a moment of time.

5. Maybe he's telling us the big picture is the poem, and there are no shortcuts to solving it. Meaning there is no reason trying to figure out hoB or the blaze until WWWH is firmly and undeniably established. The poem is a whole, and every stanza is important. That's my thought, anyway. Which leads me to think there is a system of rules you have to follow to solve each clue. In my opinion, there is a way you can reduce the poem to an exact location. I don't have it yet, though, but feel I'm close. In New Mexico.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. For today. And for the record, I don't think the big picture I posted above is the means for solving the poem. I once thought it was part of it, and it may still be, but I think I'm on to something better. My final answer.