Since 1992
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By Barbara McAllister
Word of the Day: Pilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler or wanderer. The original meaning has travelled a bit from the Latin root peregrinus which means foreigner or stranger. “Peregrine” was the name given to the first baby born after the Mayflower arrived in the new world. A peregrine falcon is a traveler with one of the longest migrations of any North American bird.
A lot of what we learned in school about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving is mythical, from what they wore to what they ate, but that’s not where I’m going with this word. Like a pilgrim, I want to wander. Every movie buff knows the word pilgrim is associated with John Wayne and any impressionist’s version of him. While Wayne made close to 200 movies, he only used the word pilgrim in two of them. First, in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” and then, just once, memorably, in “McLintock” when he says, “I haven’t lost my temper in 40 years, but pilgrim, you caused a lot of trouble this morning and somebody ought to belt you on the mouth.” (pause) “But I won’t.” Wayne turns away, long pause, turns back, then says, “The hell I won’t!” followed by Wayne slugging the troublemaker. Classic Wayne.
In the period of the Old West, calling someone pilgrim was meant as an insult. It indicated a soft, spoiled dude from back East who couldn’t handle the rough and tumble wild west. It marked him as a naive outsider who wandered in over his head. Wayne called the character played by Jimmy Stewart “pilgrim” 23 times in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” and Wayne’s indelible voice and delivery made it memorable. The classic 1962 western was directed by Maine’s own John Ford. A pilgrimage to visit the John Ford statue on Pleasant Street in Portland could start a new Thanksgiving tradition in which to reflect that pilgrims come in many forms. It’s a fresh idea to chew on over Thanksgiving dinner.
