What is a Jump Dance?

MamaCoyote is beginning to feel better. She got up and made some meatballs for spaghetti sauce. She hasn't been able to eat much and so is hoping for a small miracle and the loss of a few pounds. Seems one should get some side benefits for being sick. Do you know how the Coeur d' Alene Indians restore harmony among tribal members once a year? Thought not, haha. Learned this from daughter's anthropology teacher, Dr. Frey. In late Jan. or Feb. members of one or two families (50 or more people) meet for three consecutive nights at one person's home. The event lasts from sundown to sunrise. A person rises and tells of problems they have been having and then starts singing his suumesh song. (personal medicine song). Then the drums are beaten and everybody jumps and jumps until the singing stops. This goes on all night for three nights. Great exercise, a lot of sweat, and some become so tired that they hallucinate and become bluejays and fly off into the night. Wow! What a party!! (No drugs or alcohol allowed, really) Oh, yeah, and harmony is restored because people speak from the heart and all the dirty laundry, so to speak, is hung out to air.

The wife is sick again this year!

The wife has come down with her third cold this year. Well, one was more flu like, but it turned into a cold. I think she really is looking toward retirement when she won't have to be the recipient of so many germs from her less-than-clean students. Some students I have taught probably go a week or more without washing their hands. Or more. Any question why I am reluctant to eat in fast food places. Haha. I teach those kids. Most are pretty good and responsible, but often the ones who put in long hours at the fast food joints are of the lower economic classes and they tend to have bad personal hygeine habits.

My sister celebrates her 71st BD today. Well, maybe one doesn't celebrate much when that many years begin to pile up. She, is not sure of what day each day is, so the BD thing kind of sneaked up on her. But she liked getting my card.

Coyote says, "Mother of mud rats should pre-wash mud rats with the garden hose before stripping off the outer layer of clothes in preparation of mud rats for thorough cleaning." Build character into mud rats!!--Coyote must go! Bye, Bye

The digital record mess

Oooh! Whether it be in a file drawer or on a some file saving device for the computer, records can sometimes be hard to find. I must have spent three hours looking for my files for the book Song of Sorrow that I will be teaching from for the next five weeks. Even went to the attic. Finally, cleaned out a corner and found some zip discs. Bingo! on the last disc I found what I was looking for. Now to print out copies of study guides and quizzes to have run off in the office.

Sierra Trading Post had their grand opening on President's Weekend in Boise. Wife presented me with a one hundred dollar gift certificate for my recent birthday so we traveled to Boise after working the morning installing and cleaning theater seats at the Little Theater. We both had welcoming gifts sent in the mail from Sierra Trading Post that would allow us a ten percent discount for purchase over seventy-five dollars. So spend I did. I more than qualified for the ten percent and had to add another one hundred twenty-eight to the mix to get out of the store. Wow! All of that and I now have four new shirts, a good rain coat and a flyfishing vest.
Then the wife and I ate at Whitewater Pizza and Pasta in Meridian. Very good and we took home enough for two meals each the next day.