On Saturday I found myself with a crowd of humanity in a narrow gorge in Ohio. It was Memorial Day weekend and I was in Hocking Hills, Ohio. Just southeast of Columbus, this is the most popular natural area in the state. it is all winding roads and green rolling wooded hills. Limestone rock formations, carved by glaciers and aeons of flowing water, give the area its distinctive beauty—cliffs of rock with small streams forming waterfalls. And the heart of the Hocking Hills area is a series of short trails at Old Man’s Cave.
So I was in the most popular spot, in the most popular tourist region of Ohio, on the busiest weekend of the year. I was there for a weekend getaway with my son who lives in Columbus. The whole weekend turned out to be rainy—except for a window of a few hours on Saturday. Naturally, Dalin and I decided to head out to Old Man’s Cave during the break in the weather—and so did everyone else.
The trail descends into the rocky gorge and then winds along the stream bed, crossing back and forth on several small footbridges. At a few places the trail passes through short tunnels in the rock. On this day, the trail was so crowded that there were several traffic jams: we were literally at a standstill for several minutes at a time, waiting for the foot traffic to cross single-file across bridges and through tunnels.
It felt ironic to be in the wide-open beauty of nature and to be crowded shoulder to shoulder with strangers like a subway platform at rush hour. For a moment I was grouchy about the crowd ruining my hiking time, but I quickly decided to make the most of it. I became more friendly to my fellow hikers, greeting people and making friendly small talk. I have both an introvert and an extrovert aspect to my personality, and at times I can activate the extrovert.
What I reflected on after the hike was the common humanity of the moment on the trail and the shared sense of civility. In my normal life I’m not around crowds that much, but if I am it is likely to be for a common purpose, with a shared identity: a UU congregation; a crowd of protesters on Mission Street on a Saturday morning. In this case it was a broad mixture of people on the trail at Old Man’s Cave. We often proclaim our affiliations by our clothing choices: a hat representing a sports team (and a city or region, by extension); a rainbow or other pride symbol; an upside-down American flag. I am quick to interpret these symbols and to label my fellow humans as friend or foe accordingly. But being shoulder to shoulder in a crowded place, waiting for the line to move forward, it suddenly matters less what colors we are wearing on our hats. Everyone is having a common experience—in this case, enjoying nature and being just a bit impatient with the crowds—and a civility takes hold that transcends divisive categories. I find that I enjoy moments like that, trying consciously to greet each person as a worthy being who is—in their essence--very similar to myself.
PRAYER:
May we all have moments this summer to remember what is most important…that which transcends politics, region, and more.
May everyone in society remember civility and humility: that we have our different perspectives and experiences and would do well to try and understand one another.
And may life bring us opportunities to connect with nature and our fellow human beings.
In the name and faith of all people of good will, may it be so.
Rev. Drew Frantz
May 27, 2026
So I was in the most popular spot, in the most popular tourist region of Ohio, on the busiest weekend of the year. I was there for a weekend getaway with my son who lives in Columbus. The whole weekend turned out to be rainy—except for a window of a few hours on Saturday. Naturally, Dalin and I decided to head out to Old Man’s Cave during the break in the weather—and so did everyone else.
The trail descends into the rocky gorge and then winds along the stream bed, crossing back and forth on several small footbridges. At a few places the trail passes through short tunnels in the rock. On this day, the trail was so crowded that there were several traffic jams: we were literally at a standstill for several minutes at a time, waiting for the foot traffic to cross single-file across bridges and through tunnels.
It felt ironic to be in the wide-open beauty of nature and to be crowded shoulder to shoulder with strangers like a subway platform at rush hour. For a moment I was grouchy about the crowd ruining my hiking time, but I quickly decided to make the most of it. I became more friendly to my fellow hikers, greeting people and making friendly small talk. I have both an introvert and an extrovert aspect to my personality, and at times I can activate the extrovert.
What I reflected on after the hike was the common humanity of the moment on the trail and the shared sense of civility. In my normal life I’m not around crowds that much, but if I am it is likely to be for a common purpose, with a shared identity: a UU congregation; a crowd of protesters on Mission Street on a Saturday morning. In this case it was a broad mixture of people on the trail at Old Man’s Cave. We often proclaim our affiliations by our clothing choices: a hat representing a sports team (and a city or region, by extension); a rainbow or other pride symbol; an upside-down American flag. I am quick to interpret these symbols and to label my fellow humans as friend or foe accordingly. But being shoulder to shoulder in a crowded place, waiting for the line to move forward, it suddenly matters less what colors we are wearing on our hats. Everyone is having a common experience—in this case, enjoying nature and being just a bit impatient with the crowds—and a civility takes hold that transcends divisive categories. I find that I enjoy moments like that, trying consciously to greet each person as a worthy being who is—in their essence--very similar to myself.
PRAYER:
May we all have moments this summer to remember what is most important…that which transcends politics, region, and more.
May everyone in society remember civility and humility: that we have our different perspectives and experiences and would do well to try and understand one another.
And may life bring us opportunities to connect with nature and our fellow human beings.
In the name and faith of all people of good will, may it be so.
Rev. Drew Frantz
May 27, 2026
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