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| Days gone by... |
remembering days gone by
A stranger's face looked familiar.
"Did we go to school together," I ask the man.
He studied my face and smiled.
"Miami," I say, "Class of '65."
"Yes, we did," he laughed. "I'm Steve G, and
your dad was the golf pro, wasn't he?"
"Yes, he was." I smiled with pride. "I'm Letty."
SQUEE STAH A LO HE
Becky, whose heritage includes Cherokee,
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| It's a small world, afterall |
Of people, places, and events.
A neighbor, and I discovered we both
knew Becky from different experiences, and
Becky knew another neighbor, Jay.
Our dog, Lucy, knows our neighbors by sniffs and
dogs who bark behind the fences.
We knew Jay because of his dog Cooper.
SQUEE STAH A LO HE
One evening walking we saw Jay.
"Are you Jay, Cooper's dad?" He nodded, "Yes."
"We have friends in common," I continued.
Back and forth the dialogue flowed,
as we discovered common ground.
Goodbyes were said, then Jay turned and spoke.
"Squee stah a lo he."
I stopped, listening to the flow of his deep voice.
"Small World," he replied in Cherokee.
SQUEE STAH A LO HE,
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| Letty and Melissa Young, Jefferson Dragons |
Among strangers, we toasted to a Sooner victory.
Then a familiar smile appeared through the crowd.
Jumping up I ran calling, "Melissa, Melissa."
The teacher hugs were felt from deep inside.
Memories made it feel like yesterday, minus twenty years.
In only minutes we shared our common threads:
My move to Kansas and teaching middle school,
Her move to Temecula, Ca. teaching elementary.
SQUEE STAH A LO HE
Knocking on a stranger's door to say,
"Your Halloween pumpkins are delightful."
Can lead to old friends uniting.
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| Spinning Pumpkins, attention grabbers |
In a crowd of thousands dressed
in Sooner reds or Texas burnt oranges
A voice calls out, "Ms Watt, Ms Watt."
The teacher in me yearns to make connections,
whether in 6 degrees of separation
Or right night door.
SQUEE STAH A LO HE
as the Cherokee people say,
"Small World."
What is your Squee Stah A Lo He story?
Letty, this is a common theme in my travels at home and abroad. I love the Cherokee term you have shared with us. One of my stories:
ReplyDeletePassengers from different airlines and countries arrived in New York's LaGuardia and gathered at the gate heading to St. Louis where I was, returning from a month in the UK traveling alone at age 27. Ragged, tired, and frumpy we all bemoaned how far we had come and how many hours we had been up. One woman relished in being home soon. I spoke up to say that when I got to St. Louis I still had a six-hour bus ride south and my little brother would pick me to take me home another 20 miles away. She asked where was I from. I said, Piggott, Arkansas. Her mouth dropped. When she recovered she asked, "Do you know Gaye Wiley?" Then my jaw dropped. I told her, "That's my mother." Turns out her aunt had lived in the nursing home where mother was administrator. My mother was the only person she knew in town, except for nurses and caregivers. Squee Stah A Lo He
What an amazing moment for you both. Your story gives me goose bumps. So glad you now have new and beautiful word to use in your vocabulary. Squee stah a lo he......
DeleteLoved this! pwm
ReplyDelete