More Fun than Legal!

Thousands of miles to two states, over two weekends, to two class reunions!

Before taking off, I had to attend a wedding down in Georgia.   What a great celebration, and no expense was spared.  What a great wedding it was!

They say time flies when you're having fun, and the past couple of weekends were a blast from the past.  It was great to see everyone!

I don't take it for granted to attend a class reunion.  It is hard work to organize and plan a successful reunion.  If you don't believe me, try doing it by yourself.  I am thankful for those who did the work to sponsor these events in rural communities.   

I had the fortunate experience of attending four different high schools in three states, while living on Native American reservations.  Those included the Ft. Berthold in North Dakota, Pine Ridge in South Dakota, and the Yankton Sioux reservations in South Dakota, as my father worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Law Enforcement. 

In 2025, it's hard to beat the heartbeat of America!  Yes, you see the damndest things while traveling, and this trip was no exception.  Sick humor, I know!  Here are a couple of canines, madly in love, doing what dogs do, while their owner is zipping out of a CENEX station in Missouri!

Great people are everywhere in our great nation.  In no particular chronology, I had a grand meal at the UPTOWN RESTAURANT and LOUNGE in West Point, Nebraska.  They specialize in delicious lunch meals, but I was hungry for a plate of eggs, and they delivered.   Rennae Wietfeld, the proprietor for over 30 years, was a wonderful host and conversationalist.  To call it perfect, well, everything was exceptional, except perhaps for the coffee.

I will visit again with hunger!  Well worth the stop.  The service was fast, the restaurant was clean and the bevy of older gals sitting by the front door were a hoot.   One of the gals was the owner's Mom.  

Omaha and the growth of cities in eastern Nebraska are here to stay.  Freeways turned to 2 lane highways fairly fast.  Heading west out of the "blue" part of Nebraska had me feeling at home.  The Sand Hills of Nebraska have always been special.  The ride from Valentine to Gordon was the best trip across Nebraska I have ever been on.  The rain, which began in mid-May, did its magic, and the grass was knee-high everywhere.  Absolute gorgeous country, so if you have never been in the Sand Hills in spring, I suggest you get it on your bucket list.  Awesome land, awesome country!  

Here is a picture of the fullback, the halfback, and the quarterback on the Rushville Longhorn football team in 1970.  We lost one of our assistant football and track coaches this past week, Bill Engel, who was not only a great coach but also a great teacher.   

The parade had an entry from each class.  I think our Class had the finest entry.  What say you?

This van pulled our float in the parade and had a special hippie vibe to it.

Like most schools in the breadbasket of America, the class size is shrinking.   This was the school I attended, now it's a grade school, and high school students attend classes in another town.  The migration of families to larger cities, the lack of necessity to have more people running bigger and more efficient equipment in rural ag communities, and small farms being gobbled up by corporate farming interests all play a part in the downsizing.

In Nebraska, east of Chadron, is a unique museum.  It is the Museum of the Fur Trade.  I could have spent days in their library and I would urge anyone to stop in for a  visit.  Worth every penny to get in the front door, and to me, a wonderful time spent in history.

Here is something I learned.  

I spent a couple of hours in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Living in Pine Ridge I attended Oglala Community High School.  I was a Thorpe.  The following year, my parents insisted I attend school off the reservation to get a better education.  I am thankful for their insistence to this day.

From all appearances, not much has changed in 50 years.   Pine Ridge looks like a war zone.  The cartel presence, the unkept homes, the junked cars, the nasty streets, the lack of organization, the clutter, litter, and lack of business enterprise are disgusting.

In high school, I thought it would change in my lifetime.

The Massacre at Wounded Knee won't go away.   I would ride my motorcycle to the Wounded Knee site often and stop at the grave site.  In the late 60's, the site was not properly cared for and looked terrible.

The pain endures.  Hard liquor seems to be the alcohol of choice since the White Clay, Nebraska liquor establishments were shuttered.   Now, Natives have to drive further and spend more money on their addiction.  The drug, alcohol, and suicide rates defy what might be considered normal.  There is nothing normal about Pine Ridge, South Dakota.   It was a rough day.  I won't be back. I did my best to help them with their investments when I founded Native American Advisors, Inc. in 1995.   I am proud to say I never paid a Tribal councilman off, never left bags of cash, never handed out pro sports tickets, and didn't rip off a Tribal member anywhere.  I should write a book on what I saw.

I doubt anyone would believe it.  

From western Nebraska, I headed north into the Black Hills country.

At the Montana boundary is a WELCOME sign.  It is the first target that visitors practice on in Montana.  You can't escape the dumbshits anywhere in this fine nation.  COVID, no parents, cell phone reels, woke videos, are perhaps the root cause of cognitive extinction, but maybe they just love to hear the sound of bullets hitting steel.  Montana DOT, please hide cameras and get some license plate numbers.  Make some money from the lunatics!

I was headed to my ranch in Montana, the Ghost Ranch to have some work done.  This pine wood is distressed and colored by beetles.  Had some great work accomplished in a short amount of time and met some wonderful people.  Montana is full of great people.  See for yourself.   

The Ghost Ranch is a special place.   The usual citizens were out and about doing what they do best at this time of year.

From Montana I turned east and ran to eastern South Dakota.  My classmate, Robert "Bobby" Flying Hawk is the Tribal Chairman at the Yankton Sioux Reservation.  I am proud of Bobby.  He has done an admirable job.   

Lake Andes, South Dakota.  Great people, great community.

This is half of my graduating class that is still alive.  We had a great turnout for the festivities. Great people, good food, fine music, and still plenty of humor to go around.

Yes, the older we get, the better we were.

Good to go, great to be home!

May Creator shine on you and yours and all of us until the Big Reunion in the Sky!