Here’s the new video from Litefoot, a singer from my tribe in Oklahoma. You might know him as the star of The Indian in the Cupboard, but Litefoot is a well-known singer in Indian Country and the owner, with his wife, Carmen, of the Native Style Clothing company. Litefoot is a frequent visitor to the Shakopee Wacipi in August, so if you’re out that way powwow weekend this year, swing by his booth and say “Osiyo.” And be sure to check out the stylin’ clothes he and Carmen are selling.

Take a close look at this “found pet” poster I found on fark.com. Made me spit water through my nose. Now the CIA’s in trouble for that, too. Who needs pain pills when you can just surf the internetz for funniez?

Saw my doctor today as scheduled to follow up on my scooter crash injuries. The bruising, as you can see from the embedded photo, is pretty bad, but “it’s all soft-tissue injury,” my Doc says, which I reckon is supposed to make me feel better. Unfortunately, I still can’t bend my right leg very far and have to hobble around on crutches, which means I’m not very mobile just yet. Doc says I should start to return to normalcy in another week to 10 days. I, OTOH, hope to be back in action much sooner. I will more than likely have to rely on the bus (driving is still out of the question because of my right leg injuries and the helpful pain pills they have me taking). And I will have to do things in small doses because I can’t sit in a chair for long periods — my leg and foot swell up on me. And it hurts. All in all, thankful to be alive, but ready to be done with crutches, pain pills and having someone else dress me in the morning.

Here’s a picture of my helmet. Doesn’t look too bad considering (well, except for the ripped off face mask part). Below is a photo of my bruised hip, the sorest part of my body since the accident.

Tonight is American Indian Night at the Swarm, when Minnesota’s professional lacrosse team celebrates the game’s roots in American Indian culture before European contact. After the game, Coach Duane Jacobs, a hall-of-fame player and Six Nations native, will join popular player Travis Hill (shown in action above) for a Q&A session with members of the local native community. The Swarm’s owners and management have been stepping up their efforts to reach out to the American Indian community in the Twin Cities and across Minnesota. If you get a chance to pick up the latest issue of The Circle newspaper in Minneapolis, check out the front-page story I wrote about the team’s outreach efforts. Unfortunately, the story has not yet been posted to The Circle’s spiffy new web site (full disclosure: I was recently elected to The Circle’s board).
Unfortunately, The Swarm saw their playoff dreams dashed last night when Colorado beat Edmonton to wrap up the final playoff spot in the Western Division. Tonight’s game will be played for pride. I imagine with the inconsistent play we’ve seen this year, we might be saying goodbye tonight to some guys who are playing their last game in the blue and gold. I have faith in the new owners to make the changes necessary to make the Swarm successful in the long term. Swarm it up!
Finally, a special thanks to the Terzichs, our friends and neighbors, who will be providing transportation to the game since I am still unable to drive after my accident. I plan to chew up a few pain pills, throw on my Swarm jersey, grab my crutches and go, Swarm, go!

Had an accident on Thursday with my Vespa (a car cut me off and braked suddenly — I dumped the bike in rush hour traffic on Robert Street in West St. Paul). Thank god for helmets and leather jackets/gloves — they saved my life (the face mask on my helmet was ripped off and the right side of the helmet scraped right down to the core). I’m one big bruise on my right side, have two jammed thumbs and a strained right wrist, a strained right shoulder and have to walk with crutches, but I’m alive and don’t have any broken bones. I go back in a week for an MRI to check for tears and strains after some of the swelling subsides. I’m not very mobile at the moment — it hurts like heck to move around, even with the crutches. The pain meds definitely help, but they make me a bit fuzzy. My hands are a bit messed up so typing is a chore, but wanted to let everyone know that it takes more than a bad accident to silence me. I’ll try to post some pics later of my messed up helmet — that would have been my head if I hadn’t been wearing one. I saved the broken helmet to show my daughters and the kids in the neighborhood. So, if you see an old guy limping around and looking dazed and confused, make sure you point me in the right direction before we part ways. And, hey: Let’s be careful out there. Wear your helmet every time you get on a two-wheeler.

The tree that was knocked down on Dad's house by tornado

Good Friday? What’s So Good About It?

My Dad had a close call on Good Friday when a tornado struck his home in Dunlap, Tenn. The twister took down several mature trees on Dad’s property, dropping one on his garage and an outbuilding, but largely sparing the main house. The twister also destroyed a building at the Sequatchie County school campus down the hill from Dad. Luckily, Dad was down at the church and wisely stayed put at the end of his meeting when the storm hit. His wife was in Florida visiting relatives. My brother and his family were unharmed, too. The photo above was taken by my sister-in-law as everyone gathered at Dad’s to clean up.

Others, sadly, weren’t so lucky:

MURFREESBORO, Tenn., April 12 (UPI) — The tornado that crossed Murfreesboro, Tenn., took the lives of a young woman and her 9-week-old child and destroyed hundreds of houses and businesses. The twister was one of two Friday confirmed by the National Weather Service in Tennessee, The Nashville Tennessean reported. The other did little damage in Sumner County. The storms were caused by the same weather system that spawned a tornado that killed three people Thursday in Mena, Ark. In Murfreesboro, in the center of the state, the tornado left a corridor of devastation 15 miles long and, in places, half a mile wide.

Yes, that's us in our primo seats on the glass

Well, the Swarm dropped another one at the X tonight. For a while there, it looked like they would pull it out, despite trailing most of the game. Inconsistent play and trouble in goal denied the Swarm a much-needed victory. I was happy to see a physical game with a lot of checking and stick play, but no fights. That’s the game as it was intended to be played. Better luck next week, guys. We’re looking forward to spending some time with Travis Hill and Coach Jacobs for American Indian Night next Saturday. Howa!