Get in the Door

There was a knock on our front door. Our neighbor introduced us to a little girl who was looking for a playground on our side of town. She had her bike, a round sparkling face, short hair and a stance that announced that she was eager to take on her new world she had moved into. She would find her place in that world today if she had her way.

She had moved from a "noisy" city filled with dogs and children, had been to her first day of school and was looking for playmates in our neighborhood. We talked for a while and I tried my best to think of another girl about nine years old who lived nearby. Most of our quiet neighborhood has retirees or residents with no children.

I was eager to help her. I was drawn to her "take charge" attitude, and in many ways she reminded me of myself at that age. Also I discovered that her folks were opening the restaurant that had been closed for about a year. It is two blocks from our house and we had been frequent customers for breakfast with the easy walk to its front door. I was delighted that it would be opening soon.

We wandered around to our alley where a new family had moved into a few months back. I was aware that they had children, but was uncertain of the ages.

"I think they are younger than you."

"That's okay", she said. We waited for a while, chatting about her two younger brothers, her first day at school, when a truck drove up to the house. A man got out, followed by a little girl of five or six. I suggested that she check it out.

"Wait up", she yelled at the man and girl as they were going in the back door. They stood waiting on the porch. She rode her bike up to them as I came back home. About a half hour later I was out in the yard when she rode by and told me that that girl was six, but there was an older girl about her age.

"I'm going to bring my little brother over to play with the little girl and I will play with the older one."

As she rode off she said, "When the door opens you got to jump right in."

What a philosopy from a ten year old! It was a powerful reminder that one is never to old to learn, even from a child. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of time, interest and an open mind to the world at hand.

Sometimes a positive change of pace from all of the issues in this world...Save our Water, Save our VA, Save our River...is all that is needed to put things back into perspective.

This night is going to be a good one.

Power to the People

They came from North Dakota, Nebraska, Pine Ridge, and from throughout the Hills. They were young, old, white and brown. They were doctors, journalists, ranchers, teachers, business owners and elected officials. They were retirees, bankers, geologists, chemists, lawyers and biologists. They were all filled with knowledge and passion. Their passion was for keeping the purity of the water for the ranchers, the tourists, the residents and the children up to the seventh generation.

This diverse group each took their turns standing before the state panel of nine white men who were sitting at tables wearing conservative suits and stoic faces. These men were from the mining board who were to give approval for the in-situ uranium mining permits in the Black Hills. The people spoke into the microphone so as to be heard by the others in the large room and they expressed their fears about the strong possibilities of the pollution of the water and the allowing of this permit to Powertech opening up to other companies, lying in wait to mine for uranium throughout all of the Black Hills.

The following are excerpts from several of the people speaking to the uranium mining board on September 23, 2013 in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Water is life. We cannot live without it. Our children cannot live without it. The wildlife, from the smallest of the insects, frogs and birds - to the coyotes, eagles,deer and cattle that drink the water, must have it unpolluted in order to survive. We cannot sell contaminated meat to the people. Our children cannot eat the fish that come from the rivers and lakes that have been touched by those contaminants.

Floods, earthquakes, winds and any form of natural disasters such as in Fukushimo and as recently as the foods in Colorado, can, and will occur. We do not know what lies beneath the ground and what may happen in the aquifers. Our earth changes and moves and so can water filled with the poisons. We do know that the discharge ponds polluted with selenium and other heavy metals cannot ever be safeguarded from the wildlife, the toxins increasing in intensity as they travel up the food chain.

My ranch is near the uranium mining operation by Crawford, Nebraska. They told me everything would be safe. Today they use that mine as a model for in-situ mining, but today my wells are polluted. How can you ranch with polluted wells?

You white people can take your money and move. I am poor. My people cannot move. We must remain on our land. You may be third generation on this land. We are one hundred generation on our land. It is all about the money for those who want this mining. It is greed for what is now and no care for the generations to come.

I believe that love will triumph over greed. It is stronger. Love for this land and our water is more powerful than this desire for short term "economic development". Love comes from us...the people. The love is for our land, our air, our water and for our children and their children. Our water is not for sale to foreign companies. They do not care about the purity of our water. They do not live here.

Some of you fighting for the mining company own stock. You have much to lose if these permits are not approved. What you lose is temporary. You cannot eat and drink uranium and other heavy metals. If these companies get the rights to our water, this beautiful land in these Hills will forever be polluted.  In time those who drink the water will die slow and painful deaths. We know that cancer follows the yellow cake as surely as the rivers flow and the aquifers bleed into our earth, our springs, and other aquifers - just as certain as the rains, the floods, the earthquakes, the wildfires and the winds will come to spread the contamination through the air, the water and the soil.

 It is our water, our air, our earth. Our politicians should not listen to the corporations who never clean up as they promised. If they did the research they would know that this type of mining will leave a mess for the taxpayers. On the other hand, it will leave increased jobs for the medical profession. They must listen to us, the people. They have been elected to represent the people. But when the money glistens, the leaders listen. It is all about the money.

There are those who seek the money and there are those who want an uncontaminated earth. It is long term versus short term. Which side will win out in the end?

For more details on the daily hearings go to http://denr.sd.gov/des/mm/powertechminepermitapp.aspx#audio

We Had a Celebration

Many of them came. They walked in quietly to our American Legion hall, ready to celebrate the publication of Reveille in Hot Springs, the book that they had each been involved in creating, if by their story or their quote, proofing, photo or inspiration.

There was one who drove up from Nebraska, one from Rapid City and one from Eagle Butte, a drive of more than three hours. The others were from the area. Those who were physically and emotionally able joined our celebration.

Most were veterans from WWII through Afghanistan who had shared their stories, some with great difficulty, with one thought in mind..."to save our VA and our benefits that we once earned serving our country".

I was proud and humbled in their presence. They had taught me so much, and by letting me enter into a part of their world, had changed me forevever. For this gift they have given me I am grateful.

They poured coffee, admired the large cake decorated with an exact replica of the cover of the book, selected food, sat down with other veterans and citizens from Hot Springs, read by way of the name tag that I had provided, the part that one another had played in this book of their battle, perhaps their last one, and gradually became close to one another through the common struggle they were sharing..

As the comfort levels increased, the conversation and laughter grew accordingly. By the time they were signing the 50 books that we were sending to our representatives in Washington, the warmth could be felt throughout the room. We, the regular folks, and the veterans, were united forever through this undertaking.

Last night we had a community celebration. Those veterans who could face large crowds came once again, proudly wearing their name tags identifying their part in this book, and signed books for the townspeople. They were proud, as they should have been.

As for me, so many came up and thanked me for writing this book. I could only reply, in honesty, "It has been an effort of love and I have been given far more in return than I could have ever imagined over a year ago when I began this project".

These veterans who brought me into their lives, took photos and purchased books. Some of them bought many copies of the book...to spread the word everwhere....in order to help fellow veterans everywhere. It is a battle they have chosen to fight for themselves and all veterans present and to come.

I am humbled in their presence. I am filled with wonder and love.

Where Did it Go?

Two emails arrived this week that got me reflecting about life, family and friends.

The first one was an announcement that my last surviving cousin had died. He was the end of our generation in my home town of Ely, and, as my cousin, Lois, the writer of the email noted to my brother and me, "I think you two are the last left of that generation". Those were sobering words.

Later I received another email from Mary Jean, a school friend who lives in my home town. She wrote, "Where did life go when we weren't looking?" This friend has a way with words...to the point, and with a poetic quality.

Where did life go? It seems only yesterday that I was young and looking forward to a future, wondering what it would hold in store. I still feel much like that person I was growing up in the north woods, protected from much of the world, running through the woods, talking to strangers, exiting the house early in the day, to return in the evening after a day of adventures. Our parents didn't worry about us in those days, even though we were unconnected by cell phones. We actually communicated face-to-face, looking into each other's eyes, waiting  for a response that included the non-verbal. We felt the world around us, smelled the scents of the forest, swam in the lakes (unsupervised), biked to the next adventure, dug in the earth, made sand castles, salted bloodsuckers, captured night crawlers for fishing, toads and frogs and chipmunks for short-term enclosure in cages, (thanks to the construction talent of my oldest brother), sprinted after the fireflies, picked wild berries, scraped our knees and played outside until well after dark.

During the inclement weather we played board games, listened to the radio shows and read, and read and read some more. We had our secret places such as forts in the woods and a crawl space on the top of the shed above the alley, where we hid from adult intrusion, and perused magazines and comics, wrote journals and secret codes. In the winter we sledded, made snow forts, sucked on icicles, threw snowballs and stayed outside until our woolen mittens and jackets became soggy with the wet snow. Shivering with cold, we reluctantly trudged into the house, suddenly welcomed by the aromas of homemade bread and cups of hot chocolate steaming on the kitchen table.

We had chores and homework, but we were sheltered from the outside world, except through the news reels at the movie theater and, when company came over, our ears plastered to the heat vent in the floor upstairs, listening to the adult conversations in the living room below. Drugs, crime, murder, wars, were only on a distant radar. We felt safe.

The teen years brought us closer to adult realities. There were the social studies classes, newspapers and greater awareness of our outside world. Still we were busy with teen-age stuff...dating, football games, gossip, malts at the downtown popular hang-out, proms, clothes and flitting contemplation of our future plans, often pushed under the covers with our busy-ness of growing up, or, perhaps, our fear of facing that great unknown...unprotected and no longer so safe.

Then we became adults with all the accompanying responsibilities. Over the years we were bombarded by the news of the entire world as our world became invaded by TV, computers, cell phones and we felt compelled to be aware, to vote, to take stands and to enter into life with all that we could offer to make that world a better place.

Where did life go? Am I really one of the last of my generation? I remember when my father moved in with us. He was almost 87 and he enriched our lives until his death at 92. I remember when he said that he did not want to die. There were so many things happening and he wanted to live to see what would happen next. He had always lived life with gusto. He supported a family in a job he detested, "underground, damp and sunless," he spent his free time in the woods he loved, and he read every newspaper and magazine within his reach, an influence on me I am sure. He gave to others, constantly helping out his neighbors, his community, his church. He led a full life, even during his last years when he moved in with us after my mother's and sister's deaths. He brought our neighborhood together, something that I had been too busy to do with work and all. He kept our fires burning during the winter, cutting the wood, piling it by the fireplace, and keeping a toasty fire 24 hours a day. After a few years he could only tend it during the day hours, and during his last year of life the wood lay uncut and the fire burned no more.

He lived life but at the end he, too, wondered, "Where did it go?" It passed too quickly and he was not ready to let it go.

He was a model and I hope to live life as he did...to the fullest and to the very end, and wonder, as does my school friend, "Where did it go?"

They Never End

As long as their are people on this earth there will be conflicts. In Reveille in Hot Spring one of the veterans states that "there will always be wars" and I really believe that. Be it greed, power or  misunderstanding...disagreements, conflicts and even wars will continue to haunt us.

Our community has been involved in many issues, the longest lasting this far being the fight to save our VA in Hot Springs. We stand together against those in power who continue to erode veteran benefits. We were split on the issue of "to buy, or not to buy", when it came to the decision for the city council to purchase the Evan's Plunge, the worlds largest natural indoor, heated swimming pool.

The entire Black Hills is caught up in a struggle to battle foreign companies (and many local politicians who support them) who want to obtain permits for mining uranium by in situ mining, a process not un-like fracking, that has a long track record of contamination of aquifers in many countries, followed by an absence of thorough clean-up by those same companies, which prefer to pollute in countries other than their own.

The latest struggle will be our battle to save our American Legion in Hot Springs. Once again, it is those in authority who want to close us up in order to get at the leader of this legion who has been leading the charge to save our VA and irritating, to say the least, those who have the power to take away benefits from veterans. Those in charge have been doing it gradually and rather quietly for over 15 years and we citizens of Hot Springs, together with our veterans, are saying "No, it must stop here and now."

At a recent meeting in Rapid City, several of the leaders of their city council congratulated us, the people, for fighting for a cause. They said it has been the grass roots groups who have changed our country - from civil rights, the war in Vietnam, voting rights, etc. They asked us to continue to fight. It is, after all, a country "of the people, by the people and for the people" not of, by and for the corporations. At times it is difficult to believe that. They do have the money and greed is a huge influence on outcomes. But it did boost morale to hear kudos from elected officials for us who are fighting yet another battle.

There will always be battles and I hope many will continue to take up the fights, in whatever manner they can, rather than sit back and complain and criticize those who do. In looking back over my years I believe that it is in the battle that I will stay forever young and growing. There is nothing more that I can ask out of life, and life has indeed been good to me.

Some Stories Break My Heart

My favorite meditative spot is one of the benches along the river walk in down-town Hot Springs. It is at that bench that I can hear the water cascading over the rocks, and while I sit there the rest of the world and all of the problems fade away. It is my healing place.

Today a gentleman was sitting on the bench, cane by his side and a book in his lap. Usually if that bench is occupied I continue on my way, but today I joined him on the bench. I have heard his story repeated over and over during the past months.

He is a veteran who is worried about the possible closure of our VA. He does not drive and this VA provides his medical care in a town that he can navigate with a little help from his cane. He walks the river, walks to his VA appointments and can stop into any of the stores that will supply his needs.

"I don't know what I will do if they close this VA. They have already shut down many of the services and the drive to Fort Meade hospital is an all-day drive that gets harder on me as I get older. I guess I will have to find another small town like this one because I will not be able to afford private insurance".

After my months of researching for my book about our efforts to save our VA in this small community and listening to similar stories, I did not have the heart to tell him that the VA administration in Washington is slowly, but surely, closing rural VA hospitals all over this country, while gradually whittling down the benefits that veterans earned during their time of service.

"It is so hard to believe that they are cutting us. The representatives in Washington keep getting their raises and superior health care. My medicare premiums cut into my social security, my savings are being eaten up and those guys in Washington want to make cuts to Medicare, social security and food stamps.I am right on the edge for getting any benefits. I wonder if anyone will enlist when they learn that benefits are being cut?"

I, too, wonder. After our talk I walked back home, came into the house and cried. I cried for all of our veterans, present and future. I cried for the veteran on that bench who had served proudly and who only wants the health care once provided and promised. I cried for the future of our country.

Spreading the Word

Fatigue has set in. I said to my husband the other day, "I have never been so tired in my life". After a year of taking and writing interviews, two months of intensive editing and three months in publication, I have hit in exhaustion interlude. People used to refer to me as the Energizer Bunny, but, at this time it seems as if my get-up-and-go has gone-and-went.

Everything I have been involved in has been enjoyable, but I guess the emotional intensity has reached my limit for now. The problem with this recess is that this is the time I should be in promotion of Reveille in Hot Springs. What began as my contribution to our community and our VA has evolved into a passion for the rights due to our veterans. It is not just for our veterans who use our VA, but for all of our American veterans who served our country, be it peacetime or in combat, and who deserve the benefits our government once promised. They are heading for privatization of benefits and consolidation of health care in the major cities.

The veterans who need emotional health care for PTSD and substance abuse want to recover in the peace and quiet of rural VA facilities. The larger hosptials located in the metro areas have too many triggers that can reverse their recovery, and because of their size, veterans are treated as numbers and patients, not as veterans.

In the private hospitals doctors are not trained to recognize PTSD, agent orange related diseases and the special needs that veterans require for their healing. Also, it has been proven that the most cost-effective way to treat our veterans is through VA centers. It will cost the taxpayers more to have veterans seek treatment in private hospitals.

It makes sense to keep and improve our VA hospitals. It makes sense to give all veterans, combat related or not, their full benefits, much as our representatives in Washington receive after their years of service to our country. I wonder if we will have future soldiers to enter the military when young men and women begin to realize that if they serve and do not get VA benefits for non-combat-related injuries or illnesses, that they will need to obtain insurance which is often beyond their means.

Then there are the homeless veterans, drifting the country, perhaps getting welfare, who are lost in the muddle of the indigent who have never served. Does adding to this cost, rather than treatment and retraining for society make sense?

Oh, yes, I could go on and on, but again, my frustration and anger at this muddled system only adds to my exhaustion. I need to recoup and regroup for the battle ahead.

This morning I got a phone call from someone who brought a "bunch of books" at the bookstore and is bringing them over for me to personalize. She said she is spreading them around the country during her travels. She wants the word out there. So do I. So do I. Thank you to everyone who purchases books, gives them out to others or sends them on for reviews. You help the cause. You help our veterans, and you help out this temporarily un-wound bunny.

If you help spread the word, thank you from all of our veterans. Thank you from me.