THE REAR END: A River Runs Down It (2024)

I thought I was alone. Just me and the twittering birds. Just me and the squirrels. Just me and the dark river water rushing along its path. But a man came rambling from betwixt the trees, surely from the nearby bike path. Just some guy. He circled a huge elm tree – one of the ancients living next to the Eau Claire river, the ones keeping a tender watch over the current. He walked up and stood … awkwardly close to it.

Then he unzipped his pants and took a nice, long leak. Onto the tree. As one does.

I don’t think the man ever saw me, and I’m pretty sure the elm tree didn’t care. But I felt a wee smidgen of perturbedness. I thought I’d found a secluded spot amongst the tree limbs and the gushing river. I thought I’d found a place of calm and focused light.

And then some random dude was peeing all over the side of a big tree. He finished his business (his urine business) and left as quickly as he showed up.

I had no right to expect privacy in that place. I was on public property. And after years of hunting with groups of burly northwoods men, I’m certainly no stranger to peeing on trees. That said, I had walked there specifically to find solitude. And this watery situation, while undeniably intimate, was not part of the plan.

So what was the plan, exactly?

I was doing private things, the likes of which I will not describe here, except to say these things were both legal and moral. I could tell you more, but I’m taking a page from Prince’s playbook (may he rest in purple peace) and wrapping myself in a shroud of Fierce Mystique. Let me just add this: It was very boring.

so what was the plan, exactly?

I was doing private things, the likes of which I will not describe here, except to say these things were both legal and moral. I could tell you more, but I’m taking a page from Prince’s playbook (may he rest in purple peace) and wrapping myself in a shroud of Fierce Mystique. Let me just add this: It was very boring.

THE REAR END: A River Runs Down It (1)

MIKE PAULUS

But I wanted to be boring all by myself. I don’t blame the guy for peeing on the tree. If you have to go, you have to go, and at least he wasn’t peeing all over the bike path. He wanted privacy, too.

Luckily, Eau Claire is chock full of private places and quiet spots. Secret nooks and confidential crannies. Roads less traveled. Underutilized parks patiently waiting for your affection.

The City of Eau Claire is home to an impressive urban forest. I personally believe (and so should you) that our trees – of many sizes, shapes, and ages – are a defining asset of this community. We have pockets of wooded terrain all over the place, even downtown, and we’re so lucky to have them.

You can easily find a place to be on your own. And then you can walk for a few minutes and be amongst The People. It’s great.

I guess I’m kind of shy most of the time. And sometimes I like quiet spots. Like that day in the trees by the river. I had been looking for a place to feel unobserved. And unjudged. So I could concentrate. And that’s just what I found.

The guy peeing on the elm tree was no big deal. However, the guy taking a smoke break was a little bigger deal. It would appear my special spot was not so special. About 10 minutes after the urine incident, another random dude showed up, murmured a “hi” as he walked past me, and settled into the crook of a nearby fallen tree. He proceeded to quietly smoke a cigarette and watch the river.

Like the first guy, I don’t blame this second guy for anything at all. He’d obviously been there before, and really, I was the one invading “his” spot. I felt weird, and self-conscious, but that’s my own stuff to deal with, not his. I finished up and, with a small wave, I left him to his solitude. I didn’t want to take that away from him.

Because that’s the other thing I appreciate about this city – in general, people are pretty kind to each other. And the next secluded spot isn’t too far down the path.

THE REAR END: A River Runs Down It (2024)

FAQs

What does the quote "at the end of a river runs through it" mean? ›

It's part of the epilogue in the novella. Norman is stating how after all the ups and downs in life , the good and bad eventually we all die . It's a very metaphorical way of describing the circle of life . It doesn't matter who or what you are - eventually we all end up in the earth. “

What is the message behind A River Runs Through It? ›

It is a story about Maclean and his brother, Paul, who was beaten to death with a gun butt in 1938. It is about not understanding what you love, about not being able to help.

What is the final quote of A River Runs Through It? ›

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.

Is there a season 2 for A River Runs Through It? ›

S2 E1: Gareth decides to hire another chef.

What is the first line of A River Runs Through It? ›

From its first magnificent sentence, "In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing", to the last, "I am haunted by waters", A River Runs through It is an American classic.

What is the river a metaphor for in A River Runs Through It? ›

In this novella, rivers have several meanings. On one level, a river represents the natural world. On another level, the arc of a river flowing through the rocks and canyons of Montana symbolizes the arc of a human life. Both meanings of the river inform the overarching structure of the novella.

What is the true story behind A River Runs Through It? ›

A River Runs Through is a cinematographically stunning true story of Norman Maclean. The story follows Norman and his brother Paul through the experiences of life and growing up, and how their love of fly fishing keeps them together despite varying life circumstances in the untamed west of Montana in the 1920's.

What happens to Paul at the end of A River Runs Through It? ›

In the film, Paul — played by a young Brad Pitt — is beaten to death in Montana. In reality, he was murdered in a Chicago alley, and, although conspiracy theories abound, the circumstances remain a mystery.

What is the spiritual meaning of A River Runs Through It? ›

The river symbolized the grace God has, the grace that is always there and never-ending, grace that runs deep, grace that brings you home, grace that is everlasting. The men of the movie could always turn to the river and find the same thing, no matter where they were in their lives, the river was always there.

What is the moral of the movie "A river Runs Through It"? ›

Our inability to completely understand something or someone should not diminish our love for the same. Understanding and faith often don't go hand in hand. Of course, the final lesson may be drawn from the final lines in both the book and the movie: “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.

Does a river run through it have a good ending? ›

The final lines of the film pretty much sum it up. "In the end, all things run together into one, and a river runs through it. And if you listen to the waters you can hear their voices....... I am haunted by waters." All in all, a beautiful film that makes us pause at the end and think about what is really important.

Who is the old man at the end of A River Runs Through It? ›

Arnold Richardson was not the best-known Montanan to appear in a Hollywood movie, but his solitary bit part — as the elderly Norman Maclean in "A River Runs Through It" — remains one of the most iconic cinematic images of the state, partly responsible, for better or worse, for the explosion in the popularity of fly ...

What river was the movie A River Runs Through It filmed on? ›

Filming. Although both the book and movie are set in Missoula and on the Blackfoot River, it was filmed in late June to early July 1991 in south central Montana in Livingston and Bozeman, and on the nearby upper Yellowstone, Gallatin, and Boulder Rivers.

Does Norman marry Jesse in A River Runs Through It? ›

Norman Maclean

After college at Dartmouth, Maclean became a professor at the University of Chicago. He married Jessie Burns of Wolf Creek, Montana; they had two children, Jean and John.

What year is A River Runs Through It set in? ›

Two sons of a stern minister - one reserved, one rebellious - grow up in rural 1920s Montana while devoted to fly fishing. Two sons of a stern minister - one reserved, one rebellious - grow up in rural 1920s Montana while devoted to fly fishing.

What is at the end of the river meaning? ›

The end of a river is called the mouth of the river. It is the place where the river empties into another body of water such as a lake or ocean.

What happens in the end of A River Runs Through It? ›

All that those who truly care for such a self-destructive person can do, Rev. Maclean concludes, is to give unconditional love, even without understanding why. The closing scene shows an elderly Norman Maclean fishing on the same river as director Robert Redford narrates the final lines from Maclean's original novella.

What is the quote from A River Runs Through It about fishing? ›

-Many of us probably would be better fishermen if we did not spend so much time watching and waiting for the world to become perfect. -Well, then, take care of yourself and have a good time. -You like to fish in sunny, open water because you are a Scot and afraid to lose a fly if you cast into the bushes.

What is the point of A River Runs Through It? ›

A River Runs Through is a cinematographically stunning true story of Norman Maclean. The story follows Norman and his brother Paul through the experiences of life and growing up, and how their love of fly fishing keeps them together despite varying life circumstances in the untamed west of Montana in the 1920's.

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