March Madness is getting closer!

As we wind down the mildest winter of this guy’s 61 winters, it makes you wonder why we have received so little snow fall.  I think I have more snow on my head then what we received this year.  With that said, we will probably get the hardest snow-fall of all time in March, but we have experienced that before too.  One year we went to the Denver March Pow-Wow and we hit a blizzard and had to sleep on the floor in a National Guard Armory in Western Kansas.  That was the last pow-wow we went to in Denver.

And this is the time of the year we’re we are heavily involved and invested in KU basketball.  This is the big event of the week for me and my family.  I sit there in my chair and cuss up a storm at times.  Before this season started, I said this will be a down year for KU, but still should win 25-27 games.  They have surprised me by winning the Big 12 title for the 8^th year in a row.  They lack depth and concentration at times and are darn good when they are on their game. 

A side-note first:  We hit the jackpot the other day.  I bought four tickets for $12 apiece and add in tax, the total cost was $60.00.  Oh, these tickets were to the KU woman’s game against # Baylor -to make a long story short, the seats were right behind the KU bench.  We could see the coach diagram plays and see the players up close.  At one point in the game, Thomas Robinson and his entourage sat down a few seats from us, but I couldn’t get a good picture since I was boxed in pretty good.  Baylor has a gal named Brittany Griner who is all-everything and is destined for stardom in the woman’s pro league.  She is all that and more.  We are couch tators, but ventured out into the world to see her play.  Baylor beat KU pretty bad. Angel Goodrich of KU, who is part Indian and went to an Indian school in Oklahoma did well in the game.  She is fast and can shoot the 3-pointers.  Sitting behind the KU bench made me feel like somebody and some one saw us on television, so for a few seconds I was a star.  Just kidding!

The next day we had some religious obligations to take care of and made it home in time to watch KU men play Missouri.  This game had the hype and Missouri is good as they come.  They are an excellent team.  Some hate Missouri with a passion.  I don't.  They are good, but so is KU.  Yet, I sat in disbelief when KU fell behind by 19 points. I thought "not in our house." They missed so many free throws and showed the bench is lacking but they fought and fought and start doing things right. I called it a miracle but it's our right as a jayhawk nation.

But I did indulge in selfish prayer when KU was behind by 19 points I said "please, please let my KU come back and win because that Merle guy will never let me live it down" Merle is a guy who lives on the Kickapoo Reservation whose claim to fame is that he’s a KSU fan.  I don’t know why.  It’s hard to explain, kinda like the lack of snow we have received. And Taylor decided to be the hero and make those 2 free throws at the end.  He was due for this break.  Taylor plays so hard and his hard work paid off!  Coach Self said it was the 2nd greatest game he was involved in, the other was the Memphis State game! KU rose in the national polls as a result of this game, getting up to 3rd in the AP poll and could be looking at a #1 seed now.  We have seen this movie before and it hasn't ended well when KU is a #1 seed, but this could be the year that changes.

 I never indulged in the drug culture (I never inhaled), but this KU win has me still flying. I watched it again late Saturday night and woke up talking about it. What a game. One of the best come-backs u could ever witness. I think the guy watching over us ungrateful humans has to be a KU fan!

The Weather, KU, Super Bowl and birthdays!

I want to tell you about the weather, KU basketball, the Super Bowl and a birthday event happening soon.

It took until February 4 to see some snow accumulation on our Potawatomi grounds, but it was only a small amount and it melted fast the next day. Up north of us in Nebraska, they had over a foot of snow, so I guess the storms have hit Denver and decided to go around us. Having so little snow isn’t something we plan on here, but it is too early to say we stayed in that pattern.

I don’t know if my expectations are way too high when it comes to KU basketball or not, and I know this is a rebuilding year of sorts, but I get so mad to watch them get beat and it’s already happened five times this year, more than normal. I think the biggest problem KU has is a lack of depth. The starting five can hang in there with just about anybody.  Look at the games against Ohio State, Kentucky, Duke, and Baylor as a testimonial, but when it comes time to substitute, the drop-off is way too huge. When the starting five plays upward toward 30 minutes a game, they get winded and tired at the end and errors happen. Yes, I get mad at Taylor for throwing the ball away or for missing free-throws but giving him a breather on occasion could only help at the end of games. I predicted they would 25-27 games this year and they can, but they will have to work at it to reach that plateau.

I watched the Super Bowl 46 last night. It was a good game although I don’t watch pro sports much anymore. Both teams were good and played very well. Too bad somebody had to lose. I thought about how I watched the first Super Bowl on t.v., when Vince Lombardi’s Packers smoked the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10. I was a great admirer of Lombardi and in the past year I was able to see their home-field and a huge statue of him in from of the stadium, it was a fitting tribute to a great coach.

Also this week, I turn 61 years old. To be truthful, I never expected to hang around that long. Some people go into depression at this age, but to me this is just another milestone and I’m more like that guy on the Gladiator movie when he said “All you can do is look death in the eye and laugh.” What else can I do?

For all those years, I just did normal Indian things – tempted fate on more than one occasion, lived hard at times and eventually slowed down, stayed married to the same woman for going on 41 years – a gal who added balance to my life and gave me the right instruction I needed. We raised a family, saw the good and bad of life which caused a whole bunch of highs and quite a bit of lows, but I let it all bounce off, kinda like that duck we read about. Longevity enabled me to see my two girls grow up, start a family of their own and to give us five grandchildren and one great-granddaughter Ju Ju. That was all good and worth sticking around for.

Throughout this journey, I saw many of my friends leave this neck of the woods, including my twin-brother Larry. That wasn’t enjoyable to see at all, but it is part of this thing we call life. Also, I included a picture of my other brother Bubs.  He left this rez back in 1984.  I sure liked him too, he was one good sheet-rocker and one hell of first baseman.

My birthday is going to be a low-key event -  I told my kids I don't want no big meal, and no gifts but If I get a couple I will be a happy camper.  Instead, I will take my wife to eat somewhere, maybe we will go and look for a giving and caring slot-machine that might hit over and over, and when we have had enough of pursing the gambler dream, we will go to bed and I will give thanks I made it this long.

An eventful weekend in January!

My grandchildren danced at the Battle of the Plains in Bartlesville, Oklahoma this past weekend. It’s a school sponsored event. It’s always a big deal to the kids to go there and dance, eat and stay in a motel. We try our best to support them. In years past, the event conflicted with our quarterly general council meeting, but not this year – that doozie is scheduled for this coming weekend.

Enroute to Bartlesville, I swerved off the beaten path and drove to see the Lucky Star Casino, which is located nine miles south of Wichita. It seems that their claim to fame is to save the state from themselves and to hurt our casino business, but only time will judge that one. The property has its own turnpike entrance and ramp to get off. In the parking lot, I noticed Geary County tags more than any other, which is the Wichita area.

It is a building under construction and they have the machines and table games set up in horse arena for the time being, but don’t get me wrong it is a gambling environment. They have seats already in place for future horse-shows and they are located about the temporary gaming floor. I don’t see the connection between successful gaming and horse shows, but it must have some draw there. There is lot of room in this section and the crowd was fairly good for a Friday afternoon. All the table games were full and the mix of gaming machines were mostly dollars and penny machines with few quarter machines. The seating was comfortable and it was easy to get around.

I think this casino is a convenient drive for Wichita people and will cut into the business of Indian casinos further south in Oklahoma. I don’t see how they can impact our operation because of how far away this casino is away, the average person probably only drives here only occasionally, anyway. I, personally wouldn’t drive to Mulvane just to gamble, maybe yes, it I was going by to some other location. It doesn’t have the atmosphere or the ambiance yet and thankfully they did not take advantage of me at the machines.

After this diversion, we made it to Oklahoma, saw a beautiful Golden Eagle perched in a tree close to the road, Indian casinos on every corner, saw some friendly folk, and saw the country-side, mostly cause I took the wrong turn. I thought I was going to Deliverance, Arkansas. Yes, I went into a cold sweat when I saw that Deliverance sign 80 miles.

My daughter said “Who goes n takes a gravel road thinking its a shortcut? Felt like i was gonna be n that movie wrong turn! ONLY GM,” but we made it to Bartlesville. It’s always an adventure riding with me! But let me tell you this isn’t the first time this old guy got lost.

They had a honor song for Anita Evans who has worked with the Indian kids at Royal Valley for a good number of years and it is great when people are recognized for the hard work they’ve done. Anita is retiring from teaching.

I got to visit my family and a bunch of friends, we pigged a bunch, gambled a little, and we spent some time with Jennifer and Teddie my first cousins. Poor things- they live in Oklahoma full-time! But all fun and games must end sometime and it soon became time to head back to the cruel, cruel world of our political life on the Potawatomi Reservation. The road trip ended at 2:00 pm Sunday, and my dog was happy I made it home! He doesn’t give a damn if I get lost!

On this trip some of the white folk were friendly, many Indians weren't. They must have a general council meeting next week too! I tell people our general councils are a time when elected officials have to pay for their sins, real or perceived and a tongue lashing happens for 4-8 hours. After this purge of emotions is all laid out on the table, a general shock comes over some, and for some it serves the purpose of making people feel better about themselves. We have a slug of non-Indians and non-tribal members who work for this tribe who don’t have to go. They are lucky to have those jobs, but don’t have to see the dynamics of how a tribal structure or tribal politics really work. Damn lucky!

January, 2012

Let’s look around us at the developments of the day:


The weather here on the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Reservation has been close to tropical, but I wouldn’t plan on it staying that way. These unplanned days have allowed me to get more work done in the yard. I had some branches cut in my back-yard and I hauled them off over the weekend and one big branch decided to whip back at me and it cut me above my eye and knocked off my glasses. I had my grandson, Pat ko shuk, administer first aid to stop the bleeding and I went on my merry way. Some day, I will cut back on this labor, but don’t know when!

With the National Championship game being played tonight at 7:30 between LSU and Alabama, I bet those Cowboys from OSU will be kicking the proverbial rock down the street for losing to Iowa State,  which goes to show you can’t let your guard down at all during the regular season. OSU ended up with a 12-1 record.

A local political observer told me the other day: “The federal government wasn’t meant to run everything. That’s why we have local government.” Well let’s see how that plays out in Wichita. Boeing is leaving Wichita after a million years being there and 2,160 employees have lost their jobs. Politicians pushed hard for pork and they were awarded all kind of contracts and given numerous tax concessions to stay, but they left anyway. This is a blow to that city, and now Kansas politicians and the D.C. delegation are under fire for not doing more.

Speaking of politicians if you want:

Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal on Thursday apologized for an email that made fun of first lady Michelle Obama’s hair style and mockingly called her “Mrs. YoMama.” According to the Lawrence Journal World, O’Neal forwarded from his personal computer the email that said, “I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing Mrs. YoMama a wonderful, long Hawaii Christmas vacation — at our expense, of course.”

The O’Neal incident comes just weeks after U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, apologized to the first lady for commenting on the size of her backside.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Sensenbrenner referred to Obama’s “big butt” while talking to church members at a Christmas bazaar. According to the newspaper’s account, Sensenbrenner thought Obama was a hypocrite for undertaking a national initiative to fight obesity. Politicians don’t have to worry about racial comments, I guess!

But in the business world, last month an employee cashier reportedly used "Ching" and "Chong" in the customer identification line on the receipts. He was dismissed for violating operating standards. In another incident, Papa John’s terminated an employee for writing “lady chinky eyes” on a receipt in New York City. Customers said “Your employees are your brand,” Yet, politicians can make remarks like those two yahoos against the first lady of the United States with no consequences. This is another case of stupid politics and a lack of respect.

An a lesson to us all: A 58-year-old man accused of drinking while driving a lawn mower has been charged with assaulting a southwest Missouri law enforcement officer in Willard, Missouri. And what was that message:  Maybe don’t’ drink and drive while you mow your weeds.

Oh well, it makes for interesting reading !

Xmas 2011

I know this isn’t good to talk about, but all the political news coming out of D.C. is sickening to hear and read about. One side hates the other and vice-versa and it doesn’t look like there are any viable political solutions in sight or at least any time soon. On January 1 many people will wake up with a hum-dinger of a hangover, but also 160,000 million hard-working Americans will see payroll taxes go up, and another two million will lose unemployment benefits because those jokers in D.C . have to indulge in a political pissing contest. It's bad enough, that they already see their taxes thrown down into a bottom-less pit with no results.

It’s the same old tired thing, the Congressman who is already comes from a rich family, has a truly nice salary, great benefits and one sterling retirement package will tell his adoring constituency what they want to hear and they will bring back the pork to their districts and everybody is happy. Of course, he has his fingers crossed behind his back when he is saying all these political things to his voters. When it’s all said and done, the payroll tax will go up, the esteemed congressmen will go on break and go home and tell their people that it’s the other side holding up progress in the country, Obama will fly to Hawaii to play a little golf and lounge on the beaches which is good for them, but not for America. Of course, we gullible folks will vote them right back into office. Damn, and people condemn Indian politics. Oh, well it best not to pay attention to politics anyway so you won’t be disappointed. Nonetheless, politicians will ruin everything we have in this great country if they continue to have free political rein.

We had some bad weather here in Kansas, but the main storm missed us. It will happen soon enough though. Christmas looms on the horizon and I need to do something about this shopping thing. Maybe it’s time to stop writing and do my best Tim Tebow imitation and offer a personal confession: I haven’t done any shopping for gifts and probably won’t. Wouldn’t it be pathetic to see me down at the mall at this stage of the game trying to figure out what to buy? The truth of the matter is that my wife does the shopping and doesn’t really want me along since I must give the impression that I would rather be somewhere else. She wraps the gifts up and the girls and grandchildren open up their gifts and say “thank you Misho and Grandma.” And then I say, “ok, what did I get you.” That too is pathetic, but what can I do?

Also during these festive times, I sometime get scared and fearful when I get behind the wheel of my vehicle. I can just hope those beastie deer don’t decide to cross my path because they can do some real damage to your car and to you. They are heated up like a politician in a D.C. hotel room, so its not all their faults.  I did see a beautiful wild-life scene the other day on my way to Dancing Ground: A fairly good sized bobcat ran in front of me, it was right pretty and could cover some ground. The bobcat is a graceful animal. It's been awhile since I've seen one here! When I was younger than I am now, I used to own coon-hounds. I did a lot of hunting with my neighbor and one time our dogs treed a bobcat. I had it stuffed and still have it today.

Oh, on the morning news they said the dead North Korean leader has a warm corner in hell waiting for him, so much for good feelings at Xmas time! But don’t let all these dark writings hold you back from having a great Christmas. From me to you and your family: Merry Christmas!

Diggin up pictures!

This the last picture we took as three brothers.  Larry, on the far right, died later that year in 2007.  We were at a Potawatomi Gathering and for the hell of it, we took this picture by the buffalo head.  It was crazy because a slug of people took our picture too for some reason.  I wanted to share this picture so I won't forget either.  We really had a good time that summer day!

This is my nephew, Steven Mitchell, he dropped by from some tiny place near Phoenix, AZ. Steven wanted to visit his Potawatomi relatives for a few days.  I'm glad I was at the Craft Sale when he pulled in.  His journey was well over 20 hours on the train. My grandson Pat ko shuk wanted to know about him.  I told him he is the son of my brother Bubs and  he would be closer to an Uncle to him than a cousin, in our way.  I missed seeing him grow up, along with other nephews and nieces and I'm so glad to see them when they do come here to visit. It's hard for an old cold hearted guy like me to develop tears but I did today when my nephew hugged me, but don't tell anybody.

Songs, movies, book-writers and college professors!

As I get older and try to write on occasion, I look back on possible influences. As a teenager which was a blue moon ago, my brothers and I would listen to Bob Dylan and Creedance Clearwater Revival in the 60s, but I don’t remember any good music happening in the following decades. I think Dylan and John Fogerty of the CC Revival were excellent writers and their work will stand out for a long time. They could put the words together in a beautiful fashion and tell a story of a torn generation, where revolution was the catch-word. People were against this and that, kinda like today.  For example, in the song “Fortunate Son” Fogerty sang:

“It aint’ me. I ain’t no Senators son. I’m no fortunate son. I ain’t no millionaires son. It ain’t me.”

He referred to how the rich folk didn’t go to war (Vietnam at the time), but all the poor people did – kinda like a bunch of young Potawatomi’s did back then. And Dylan had a message in all his songs. I always thought, damn these guys had such a gift of telling a story.  Can you imagine writing one hit song and living off the royalties?


I’m not much of a movie buff, but I couldn’t help admire the writing in the movie Forrest Gump. It was funny at times, serious at times and showed how Gump fell into the accidental fame category. One day, he was showing Elvis how he would dance to a song and pretty soon Elvis was on tv doing Forrest Gump’s dance. He was always in the background of some event such as the day they let blacks attend white schools. And since he could run so fast, “run Forrest run,” he parlayed that into a football scholarship at Alabama playing for the Bear. From there he went to Vietnam to become a war hero, a champion ping-pong player, a lucky fisherman and savvy investor to become a rich guy. His memorable quote on this:

"Lieutenant Dan got invested in some kind of fruit company.  So then I get a call from him, saying we don't have to worry about money no more.  And I said, that's good!  One less thing."

During the whole process, he was to meet several Presidents. “I’m going to meet the President, again,” in a voice only Forrest Gump could say – the emphasis was on “again.” But the point was that each story-line was so imaginative and believable and I was so amazed somebody could think of putting all these stories together in one movie. Never in another hundred years, in my opinion, will somebody come up with a movie like that again. In fact, somebody said recently all the good stories have already been told. It would be nice to be surprised though!

I thought Hunter Thompson could tell a story well and I read most of his books. They were descriptive pieces of work and I liked the way he told the story. Recently, I read a Simon Winchester book about China and he did a great job of educating the reader about this country and at the same time to tell a story, also very descriptive. A singer named Steve Earle wrote a novel called “I won’t be leaving this world alive,” and I don’t know that I’m going to read the book anytime soon. I might if I saw it on the bargain book rack, but I liked the title and who would have ever thought of a naming it that?

I covered possible influences in song-writing, movies and book-writers, but I can’t leave out college professors. I graduated from Washburn University in Topeka. I think they got tired of seeing an old Indian guy walking around their campus. The higher-ups got together on a cold winter night in the administrative offices and said "give that Indian his degree and get him out of here", so I moved on in the Spring of 1993.

Before I took that step into college life, I had worked construction and in packing houses, but a knee injury made me think about changing course. I had some help before I went to college. I always read during those early years, the early wild years but my time wasn't always an alcohol-fogged life. I read many books, newspapers and as many magazines as I could get my hands on especially those from the local laundry mat. So that made my classes fairly easy and the reading wasn't a problem for me, but I did struggle with the writing, at least in the beginning.  I worked hard at it, though. I went out and bought several books on the subject and read them extensively. I never developed into a professional, but learned enough to tell a story or something close to that.

I majored in Political Science and I took a large number of history classes (I lacked 6 hours from having a double major). Political Science was a hard subject but it was a helluva lot easier than the history classes I took at Washburn. Both subjects had some excellent teachers like Cecil-Fronsman, Freeman, and Wagner, to name a few. They made me work on the writing and of course the subject itself. It seemed like the 15 page papers never stopped but that helped me later when I wrote about our tribe and other stories.

All of this intangibles of life combined may help explain some influences that made my writing a bit easier. That's all I got to say about that!