Greetings from Wiscassett, Maine! I'm staying with my friend Greta who I met sophomore year of college. Andy (who lives in Boston) drove home for the week from Dupree, so I joined his one-man road trip and caught a train from Boston to Portland, ME, where Greta picked me up. She is serving a year with Americorps (VISTA) on Morris Farm out here. We went camping in Acadia National Park this past weekend (off season, so it was only $22 a night!). We couldn't have asked for better weather--we saw fall foliage in summer temps. We spent the days hiking and at the beach. We climbed the Beehive and Acadia Mountain and sort of got to see the sunrise from some rock cliffs we hiked to this morning. Greta has to do some work while I'm here, so I'm using this time to catch up on my blogging.
9.14.14 The Nebraska Picnic
Carol invited Andy and I (Courtney's still on vacation) to an event some of the people in Dupree put on every year called the Nebraska Picnic aka the Stew Picnic. There is a board for this event, including a president, vice president, and treasurer (of their $5.05). This year was the 94th Annual Stew Picnic. Everyone brings something to throw into the cast iron stew pot which is cooked over the fire and bring an additional dish to pass. Conversation topics ranged from farming, to the history and locations of past picnics, and the mosquitoes, which have been wicked bad. Folks joked that next year's picnic should be called the 95th Annual Blood Drive or the West Nile Picnic (to make it sound more exotic). Andy and I were the only outsiders so of course everyone joke nominated us for next year's board.
9.15.14 Tween Night
Tonight I had Tween Night all by myself while Andy picked up Courtney from the airport. About 20 kids showed up. Carol was surprised so many kids still showed up with Andy gone and said that must mean that I have really made a connection with the kids and that they like me.
9.16.14
Somehow only today did JR hear the story of me killing the mouse with a broom a couple of weeks ago. When I told him he said, "You're turning native on us. I thought only native women killed mice with brooms" and laughed.
I stayed late to take the minutes for the Sioux YMCA board. Carol said that Lakota's will never vote to oppose, they will just not vote instead. In her four years since she's been back she's only seen one vote of opposition and the man spent 20 min after the meeting explaining himself, he felt so bad. Traditionally, survival depended (and still does) on cooperation of the group and if there was a disagreement, the families split off into bands. Another thing Lakota's never do is say "good bye." It's either "see you" or "later." One only says goodbye if they'll never see you again in life.
I stayed late to take the minutes for the Sioux YMCA board. Carol said that Lakota's will never vote to oppose, they will just not vote instead. In her four years since she's been back she's only seen one vote of opposition and the man spent 20 min after the meeting explaining himself, he felt so bad. Traditionally, survival depended (and still does) on cooperation of the group and if there was a disagreement, the families split off into bands. Another thing Lakota's never do is say "good bye." It's either "see you" or "later." One only says goodbye if they'll never see you again in life.
"When someone does something good you should thank them because time takes away from the pureness of appreciation."
-Henry Lafferty, Y board member, on prompt gratitude
9.21.14
Andy and I wandered around LTM [the grocery store] for some Saturday morning fun today. We walked up and down every aisle. This is what our lives have come to.
9.25.14
I was over at Andy's the night before we made the trip out east making the programming schedule for the week that we'd be gone. We were sitting at the kitchen table and he got up to go to the bathroom. In the midst of my scheduling, I felt something hovering over me, like a shadow. I looked up expecting to see Andy, but he was walking down the hall from the bathroom. I told him what I felt because I was startled and at the time all he said was "weird." The next in the car however, Andy told me that he waited till the next day when we were out of the trailer and in the car to tell me something. He said when he was in the bathroom he felt something hovering over him, but didn't think much of it until I mentioned it, moments after he left the bathroom. Freaky, huh? Andy thinks it was a spirit passing through. So much for not seeing any because I'm not Lakota.