{"id":2317,"date":"2023-10-16T01:19:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T01:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/?p=2317"},"modified":"2023-09-16T13:11:41","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T13:11:41","slug":"chap-25-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/?p=2317","title":{"rendered":"Chap. 25 – Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SECOND PART<\/strong> – Skip’s Back<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Mari had smartly changed the venue for the party from her house to the Lodge at Hyde Park.  The little bit of snow didn\u2019t matter \u2013 we were inside.  Mari and her husband Bob knew almost everybody in town and Bob insisted on inviting all their friends.  Lots of folks with state capitol connections were there.  The Park Service let us have a private room and an open bar.  The few other hearty campers at Hyde Park in cold early November joined the party.  It was as if all the political baggage we brought to small town Santa Fe fit right in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Best of all, some members of the Navajo Nation showed up.  For years, Mari, her sisters and brothers, had had a special relationship with the Navajos \u2013 negotiating a deal to let the Navajos sell their home-made jewelry out of the shop on Canyon Road \u2013 exquisite turquoise bracelets and hairpieces, the world famous \u201cSquash Blossom Necklace,\u201d and beautifully woven blankets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Mari introduced us to John Tsoodzif (pronounced \u201csoods\u2013if,\u201d a Navajo word for Turquoise Mountain or Blue Beard).  Tsoodzif had long hair pulled back in a pony tail.  He had a beautiful turquoise string tie that matched his velveteen shirt.  He told us that Deb Haaland was the best thing that had happened in America since Little Big Horn.  \u201cHow do you think your Montana cowboy friends remember that battle?\u201d he asked us.  (Months later we were still trying to figure out if he was trying to be humorous or not \u2013 of course the Indians massacred the Cowboys in that battle.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cWell, I\u2019m going to speak for all us Minnesota white guys in the room,\u201d Steve said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Native Community\u2019s leadership on saving the earth, thinking about water as being sacred – not a property right, has been essential, the best legal leverage we have, for moving the environmental movement forward, getting young people involved, actually making things better.  The majority of court cases are being decided your way – our way – and the American people, at least in Minnesota, and young people across the nation, are grateful for your lead on all this.  Thank you!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Those of us nearby actually clapped hearing Steve say this.  Folks all around piped in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Tsoodzif eloquently talked about how the earth belongs to all its people; that in traditional Native American culture, no one \u201cowns\u201d the land or the water; that we\u2019re all entrusted with the sacred duty to preserve it for those to come; and that the pipeline fight was a natural one to take leadership on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Another of the Navajos, recognizing that the media still portrays Trump as having a grip on too much of the populace, characterized Trump\u2019s rise as just a comma in time, Trump a mere firefly in a swamp: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are many people, some shine as bright as the sun, some only have the light of a firefly.  The universe is large.  All of us acting together leave a lasting impression.  A mere firefly in a swamp has no footprint.  Time is immortal.  There is no Trumpism – only Trump.  We will outlast him because we are more than one.  The people, together, are Mother Earth\u2019s heart and soul.  It\u2019s not what happens tomorrow, or next month, or while Trump rules over us.  No one individual can win alone.  Time\u2019s immortal.  Life moves on.  Trump is a mere comma in time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Meanwhile, Patty was noticing Skip was mostly keeping to himself, not his usual effusive self.  She walked over to him, \u201cHey, what\u2019s going on?  How you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cOh, I\u2019m fine,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cLook, I know you\u2019re a little disappointed about a Rumpkin Legislature not taking off, but hey, the trip\u2019s a success \u2013 nobody has bailed \u2013 and we still\u2019ve got another dozen we\u2019re off to visit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cYah, hey, by the way,\u201d Skip replied, \u201cRocky told me you did a great job defending the idea with that lawyer in Tucson \u2013 telling him election reform was about to sweep the country, calling the Republicans dinosaurs, the Democrats same-o same-o, and the Indies on the rise.  I couldn\u2019t have done better if there myself \u2013 thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cCome on,\u201d Patty said, \u201cjoin the party, you know there are a couple former New Mexico legislators here, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The week in Santa Fe couldn\u2019t have been nicer.  Even had a frisbee golf tournament using nature\u2019s landmarks as holes, with a water hole where you could choose a long-distance throw and maybe have to wade in the frigid pond to retrieve your frisbee, or the safe way across the bridge.  We got to know all the camp dwellers playing charades and bridge in the lounge into the early morning hours, but it was so friggin\u2019 cold at night most of us snuck back to the Land Yacht to sleep, and Jack and Sally ended up taking a room in town.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The last night in Santa Fe, a Saturday night, Mari and Bob threw another party for us, a smaller one this time, with some Navajo elders as special guests, and a great traditional feast of venison, squash and cornbread hoecakes.  Before supper, we started Facebooking with Eloise and Susie back in Montana about how it was going with those cowboys helping on Eloise\u2019s campaign.  By the end of supper, Susie and Eloise were on the task of making our \u201cIndians and Cowboys\u201d Facebook friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The next morning, Jack officially proclaimed us a caravan to the great delight of Peaches and Sunshine, with all three vehicles taking off for Norman, Oklahoma, where Rocky had a friend to look up from playing in international bridge tournaments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SECOND PART – Skip’s Back      Mari had smartly changed the venue for the party from her house to the Lodge at Hyde Park.  The little bit of snow didn\u2019t matter \u2013 we were inside.  Mari and her husband Bob … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2317"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3110,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317\/revisions\/3110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}