Did I tell you that I have a clothesline????  Wow!  I haven’t had one of those since my days in El Paso, which is a long, long time ago, my youngest was two!  Now, my eagerness of this “new” but really “old” strategy of drying clothes is my recollection of how wonderful it is to dry sheets on the line.  And how great it feels and smells that night when you crawl into fresh air-sun dried sheets.  So this morning I was happily hanging my sheets out on my line – talk about Laura Engels!

The other day Phoebe and I were on one of our walks when across the road from where we were, I heard a bunch of squawking and suddenly two pheasants flew out of the trees where they had apparently been doing pheasant-type stuff.  They were beautiful if not awkward looking in their moment of distress. 

Speaking of Phoebe, she is more and more converting to a country dog.  Her paws seem less tenderfoot, or should I say tenderpaws, and she has even ventured into the longer grass!!!  I have trusted more and more to let her be off leash when we walk.  I do carry her leash in case a situation comes up that I need to corral her.  One day I caught her rolling in the grass like a real dog instead of the city slicker she has always been. 

Yesterday the man who recruited me and was to be my boss, I will call him X, but now will be moving over to a nearby reservation to be their CEO, took me on a tour of the area.  We drove out to the high school/middle school, many, many miles away from the little town of Ft. T.  Of course, miles of nothing but fields and rolling hills.  And guess what?!  They have dorms at the high school and some parents have their kids stay at the school – unfortunately that’s not always a good thing but, well, how different is this?

We then drove another bizillion miles to the farthest housing area that is part of the reservation area we serve.  On the way we saw two antelope!!!!  As we got close to the living area, there were more and more true country dogs out playing in the fields or following us in the van.  It is so isolated, I asked how they get food.  I was told some have cars and drive to Pierre, the rest are brought food by some governmental agency or process.  In order for these folks to come to the clinic (we are a mental health, alcohol and drug, and a medical clinic combined) they have three (I think three) people whose job it is to drive out to the various places where people live to bring them to the clinic, or to take out medications if they need them.  Now remember the outermost living area is a bizillion miles away.

Most of what we saw speaks loudly of the poverty of these folks and was pronounced.  I was told the school was minimal and the alternative school less than that.  Surely it would be hard to be a teacher willing to come here – the housing they provide teachers was not much better than Native housing.  Very old, dilapidated trailers.  I feel very fortunate that my little house is, by comparison, a luxury home.  I think most of us, me included, do not do enough for the unfortunates in our own country, rather than sending help to international tragedies, when we have so many such tragedies in our own backyard.  Pardon my soapbox, I’ll get off now.

Speaking of my luxury home, of which you have heard me complaining about my lack of self-cleaning stove, dishwasher, etc., X told me that he and his wife replaced their stove, frig, and got a portable dishwasher while they were living here.  After adopting two darling little Native American boys, then three and four, they moved into town so the boys wouldn’t have to have long bus rides to school.  When they moved, the local place where they bought these items came and picked them up, sold them on consignment, and they lost very little money.  Hmmmm, a new stove, frig and possibly dishwasher may be in my future!

Today Phoebe and I are heading again to Mitchell, I have some things to return to Menards so can’t go to Pierre this week-end.  When in Mitchell last week-end I took my car to a carwash there that has a dog wash too.  Well, Phoebe is one dirty little dog and rather than white, she is more and more Toto colored.  So she will endure the indignity of a bath and I will get my shopping done.

That’s it for now, stay tuned for another segment of Little House on the Reservation.