Where Everyone Knows Your Name

Oh, my goodness! Has it been that long since I've posted here? Where has the time gone?  

Well, let me begin with a conversation I had with my youngest son, this week.  He's the lucky duck who gets to go home to the reserve more than the rest of us do.   

After we got finished talking, he said, "Mom, why don't you write about that on your blog?" That, my son, I will do.

So, how do we manage to see as many people as possible in only a few days?  Well, that's easy.  We head to one of two restaurants.   If you go to Arrowhawk, expect the cleaned up version: no smoking and non-Indian employees.  (I would say "whites", but someone will say I'm not being politically correct).  Now, don't get me wrong. The food is excellent, they have good portions, and more than fair prices, but if you want to see people from the community, it's not the place.

Now, if you stop over to Jan's Smoke Shop, aka Sahdahkonee, you get the real deal, down home Indian cooking with the laughs to go with it.  No pretentious atmosphere, there.  Not at all.  You'll be talking between bites and wafting the cigarette smoke away from your food, in between laughs.  We're non-smokers, but it doesn't seem to matter. 

Smiles and greetings meet you when you first walk into Jan's.  "Hey! When d'joo get back?" "How long you here for?" A waitress will take your order, or she just might yell over,  "Six or Eight? Over easy, right?"  It doesn't matter how long you've been away, she remembers.

You ask who's cooking.  That way you know whether, or not to order the macaroni salad, or the fried bread. If your coffee cup is empty too long, you'd better fill it yourself because your waitresses might be taking her turn to move her man on Sorry. "You know where the coffee is.  Help yourself." Maybe you'll hit the jackpot and they'll be serving home made Indian cornbread.

By the time you leave, 3-4 people or more have joined you to chat and find out how things have been.  On the way out, you might get interrupted by an invite for supper.

"C'mon over for supper if you're free."
"Okay, what time?"
"Supper time's good."
"Sure."
"On your way over, pick up a gallon of milk."
"No problem.  See you then."

As I write this, I'm reminded of the sitcom "Cheers".  What's better than a place where everybody knows your name.