After a few weeks of beginning my assignment, I settled into a cabin in the woods on the edge of the small town of Pinetop. Equipped with a sleeping loft, fireplace, once-a-week maid service, kitchen (and a piano later on), the total costs were less than my Government allowance for motel lodging and per diem, so it became a win-win for all. Some more documentation …
Earlier, in describing my year or so with the White Mountain Apaches, I mentioned my friend Chris (mountain man/ski bum/engineer/fellow Porsche enthusiast/Popeye impersonator). He and his girlfriend lived in a schoolbus near the Reservation and near my cabin. Some pics I stumbled upon this weekend:
About six or eight weeks ago, I began unearthing negatives from my stint with the White Mountain Apaches (see the Introduction here). This weekend I came upon a few more images of Reservation scenes. These include photos of housing, ranging from the traditional wickiup (“wigwam” in white-speak — note that the example here has been fitted with a modern door) to government housing tracts (ranging from mid-20th-century to then-recent developments) to scattered houses and cabins and shelters of all sorts. Some dwellings from the 19th century, and perhaps older, were constructed with short rock walls extending down into the earth to create a semi-underground shelter with a roof of whatever material was at hand; I should be able to eventually find some photos of these ( I even met and visited a tribal member who returned to the reservation after gaining a law degree and refurbished one such shelter for his own private home) . Also, we can see evidence of AIM (American Indian Movement; remember Dennis Banks and Russell Means?) activism. The graffiti lettering “CBQ” refers to the poverty-stricken reservation community of Cibecue, incidentally.
Previous:
Intro
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Today we connect with Ivi in Seattle for a birthday video hangout via Google! Converted the screen grabs to black & white to mitigate the color mis-balances. And, of course, we know that Ivi is always in motion, verbally and visually …
Charlie meets a dog named Harlan. And today’s snow mostly melts.
One of the most incredible intros ever, the first minute of this thing:
And the organ fade at about 4:00 …
Sorry, can’t help it. Now back to our regular programming.
Special Post for Ivi: Olivia — demonstrating her special way with animals of all kinds — takes Charlie’s photo, then takes him for a walk.
Even colder than it looks, but Charlie is raring to go. And he waits by the front door when we are out on our own without his (crucial, probably from his point of view) accompaniment.
Janet’s puzzle has been completed. Take note, Ivi.
Walking to the post office. Still cold & windy.
