Previously:
"You have done wonderful things for people and your plans sound great. Prayers for your future." Linda wanted to make sure he knew he was supported. "How did you happen to know you wanted to be a chef?"

********

"As I got older my preparation of meals expanded. I tried new things on my poor family members. They enjoyed many of the meals I prepared. But there was one that was a challenge for me and them.

"I am embarrassed to tell of it. Everyone laughed though, which helped me to not give up on my practicing on them. I wanted to make them a special pot roast dinner with venison, carrots, onions, and potatoes.

"My Aunt Wise Fox was gone by then. My mother, the experienced cook, was outside with my father working in the garden. I was on my own with the estimated time to roast the meal.

"The strong smells of roasted venison and onions wafted through the whole house. I didn't want things to dry out, especially the venison. I would soon find out why there was need to worry about disappearing onions, or shriveled-up potatoes or carrots."

Linda and Liz watched Tommy relive the puzzled grimacing look on his face.

"When I pulled the sizzling roasting pan out of the oven, the potatoes and carrots seemed to be rolling around more than I would expect they would."

Tommy laughed as he imitated his mother's announcement. "'I'm having a little trouble spearing the potatoes & carrots, Honey.'"

"That drew everyone like flies to syrup poking their forks or knives into each potato and carrot. When they began to laugh, my mother hushed them up. She explained to me, 'we need to boil the carrots and potatoes before roasting them'.

"I threw the greasy vegetables into a pot of boiling water. We ate in different courses that night. It worked out all right. Most were still enjoying their juicy venison and onions. There were lots of 'oooh's and aaah's' that told me they would still be willing to be my guinea pigs.

"The true test of my future is that Eddy was visiting."

The two ladies looked at each other with eyebrows lifted.

"This added to my feelings of mortification. He shocked me when he said I should study to be a chef. When everyone at the table clapped and chanted, 'Aho' meaning 'yes, we agree,' I was further stunned.

"At that point, my eyes were welling up with tears." Tommy paused for a minute. His eyes were clouding over again.

"Well, I didn't expect all of that to come out. Speed is picking up and there is one last thing I want to tell you that involves my sister Sage.

"Remember I said Squirrel and I never returned to the corn and corn snake house again?"

"Yes," Linda said.

"Yes." Liz joined in with Linda.

"We knew one of the goings-on in that house, in addition to it being a shooting gallery, it was also a crack house. We're pretty sure that's what caused the fire."

Another volunteer activity he and Squirrel were involved in was joining the firefighters on the Reservation just before we were nineteen. He was leading up to something but Liz and Linda were unsure. They didn't think this was going to be a pleasant experience.

"We got the word passed to us there was a fire starting up by the old Casino. We wondered if someone had finally put it out of its misery."

The two ladies remembered back to when Sky had explained how the government had given them permission to set up a casino. But the powers that be had told the Tribal Counsel there was to be no alcohol sold or served to the excited customers.

Gambling and alcohol go hand in hand. As predicted, no one wanted to patronize a place that was dry. So it sits there with the marquee still flickering. It was easy to understand why everyone used the expression about putting it out of its misery; it was such a failed enterprise. The government had sabotaged it from the start.

The volunteer firefighter sitting in the driver's seat at the steering wheel continued the story. " As we ran up toward the Casino we realized we'd had the wrong picture in our heads. The smoke was coming from across the road.

He reflected with them upon how it had been a long time since he and Squirrel even had been up by that dead-end part of the Rez. "Maybe we'd blocked out of our memory, the close call we'd had in that building from back when we were twelve; we'd almost forgotten the building was even there.

"Smoke was exploding through the windows. They must have, in their drug-induced state, opened them to clear the smoke out of there."

Tommy related how when someone questioned whether or not there might be anyone in there, he was sure there must be. At that moment someone was hanging out the window flailing their arms.

When they hurried up to the window, the words were slurred but articulated enough for the rescuers to understand there were two passed out on the floor and needed help getting out of there. Squirrel and he volunteered with two others to go in to get them.

"We readied ourselves by being wet down with buckets of water. With soaked bandanas, we remembered to go in by the side door. It was still ajar as it had been twelve years ago. Amazing how things in the drug world remain destructively stagnant and stuck.

"We agreed to shut the windows not already blazing, to slow the fire down. The smoke stung my eyes and made my head swirl. I knew I couldn't stay in there long. I looked around to find the guy who was supposed to be somewhere on the floor. I saw him.

"The fire was creeping closer to the lump lying there. I had to pull him away. I yelled for Squirrel. I couldn't see him anywhere. I had to do something. As I was bending down to see if the fellow were conscious I experienced a biting pain like never before. I felt like my leg was being chewed apart. Pain surged through my nervous system.

"My vision darted toward the source of the pain. I screamed for Squirrel for help. Fortunately, he'd made his way closer to me. He could see and hear me. My pant leg was on fire. Sweet Squirrel, removed his damp bandanna to swat out the flames, helped me, while coughing the whole time, to drag the comatose crackhead to the crack in the doorway.

He reported that incident solidified the adults' belief that Sage was called to be a medicine person. Liz wondered if that was brewing in Sage's thoughts in the cave when she made her announcement that she felt her calling was to be a medicine person.

"When Sage gathered up a basket of a bunch of onions, cloves of garlic, and sage everyone was certain I was nuts to let her experiment on me. I said nothing. The rawness of the back and side of my calf hurt so much, I was willing to try anything.

They had sent for the tribal medicine person, but it was going to be at least a day. Sage was the only one who appeared to know what to do. The others just stood around or over me wringing their hands and holding back tears.

"I laugh now picturing a nine-year-old directing the adults to pound, peel, and crush the onions and cloves of garlic. She instructed them to make the whole of it into a salve to be spread over my burns.

"I could feel it taking effect as she smoked any evil and darkness away with her sage. Others joined in the chant, cleansing the spirit of the fires. When the entire day of her tireless attention passed, the Medicine person arrived."

Tommy said, "The Medicine person was very impressed and a bit bewildered as to how in just a day's time I had begun to heal so quickly. His mouth and eyes gaped open when we introduced him to Sage. He questioned her about how she had known what to do; who had told her of this sacred ritual?"

Tommy laughed as he told them her answer was, 'I don't know, I just did it.'

"I think you can sit back and relax. Fasten your seat belts. We're finally moving. I've unburdened my heart. I know nothing about you two. Your turn to do some storytelling."