Whisperer by Jeanne Harrell Page A

was bittersweet about the
plight of the Paiute Indian tribe – what had happened to them over
the years. His story posed no activist position. It was a mere
reflection of actions that occurred and were still occurring. The
audience applauded when he sat down.
    “Be careful,”
Meg called. “People will begin to think you can be thoughtful,
Miles.”
    “That’s not
nice, Meg,” said Lily. “That was terrific, Miles, thank you.” Lily
gave Meg a stern look that she just laughed off.
    “How about you,
Lily?” said her husband. “Got a poem for us?”
    “Okay, if you
insist.” She stood up and took out a piece of paper from her
pocket.
    “Crib notes?”
called Sam.
    “Nope, just
wanted to be prepared this time. Last time I forgot my poem. Oh,
but this time it’s not mine.”
    She started
reading with dramatic flair,
    “ ‘ On the
shores of Gitchee Gumee,’ ” A few people laughed, until she
continued seriously,
    “ ‘ Of the shining
Big-Sea-Water,
Stood Nokomis, the old woman,
Pointing with her finger westward,
To the purple clouds of sunset.’ ”
    She stopped and looked
at Colt who rose and continued,
    “ ‘ As unto the bow
the cord is,
So unto the man is woman,
Though she bends him, she obeys him,
Though she draws him, yet she follows,
Useless each without the other.’ ”
    Lily smiled
and went on…
    “ ‘ Much perplexed
by various feelings,
Listless, longing, hoping, fearing,
Dreaming still of Minnehaha,
Of the lovely Laughing Water,
In the land of the Dacotahs.’ ”
    Colt and Lily
had the group spellbound. They left out a collective breath that
had been held and started applauding.
    “And that’s
from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, another appreciator of the
American West,” said Lily. “Colt and I used to recite verses back
and forth, when he was a little guy.” He walked over to her and
kissed her on the cheek.
    “Good job,
Mom,” he said. Mandy’s mouth had dropped open during their
recitation. Unbelievable! They were a family of artists…
    Meg offered to
whip up a San Francisco breakfast for everyone the next morning --
Lots of applause and ‘we’ll take you up on that’ from people.
    Joey and Anna
got up to sing. “When did this happen?” Colt whispered to
Jesse.
    “You’ve been
gone six or seven months. If you’ve going to be gone so long, you
might miss a few dramas.”
    Joey was the
artist, but also played the guitar beautifully. Anna had a nice
singing voice. They harmonized on ‘Tumbling Tumble Weeds’.
    “You’re
kidding,” whispered Mandy to Colt. “These are Stepford people.
They’re not real, right?” Colt just laughed.
    “How about
Janie?” yelled Jeanne.
    “Yeah, Janie
can arrest someone,” laughed Miles. Everyone turned to look at her.
Being in the Sheriff’s program, they knew she was no pushover.
    “Oh, yeah? I
can do better than that,” she said looking purposefully at her
    obnoxious
brother. Everyone turned to look at Miles. The gauntlet,
apparently, had been thrown down. Sandy looked at Lily and grinned.
Miles was going to get his ass kicked.
    “What’ cha got,
little sis? Bring it on…” Miles dared her.
    “Come over
here,” she pointed to an area that was clear of people and anything
breakable.
    He walked up to
her and in two minutes, she had him flat on his back with her foot
at his throat. People blinked and then started hollering, “All
right, Janie!”
    She was
absolutely tickled that she finally got the best of her brother who
had teased her incessantly. Miles thought he might have to redefine
his relationship with her.
    “Tae Kwon Do?”
he mumbled with her foot still at his throat.
    “You bet,” she
slyly smirked at him. Then she let him get up. They shook hands and
Miles even praised her.
    “Good work,
kid. Maybe there’s hope for you yet.” Janie just smiled and sat
back down where she had been before.
    Colt raised his
eyebrows at Mandy. “That’s new too,” he said. Mandy laughed.
    Jesse bowed out
of tonight’s