A man named John
A man named John
I first met John at a gathering to listen to an Ojibwe Elder speak in Massachusetts back in 1994. He and his wife, Rhona, had been attending with a small group of people to hear the teachings of this Elder and to study those teachings. It was my first time at this gathering. John was a very quiet man and one would barely know he was there.
The speaker was Elder, Larry Matrious from Lake Lena Minnesota, a Ojibwe Indian who would one day become my teacher and guide.
As I got to know John a friendship grew. John was a geologist by profession and passionate about history, geology and Native tradition. In 1999 John and I were invited by that Elder to attend a Medicine Society gathering in Bad River, Wisconsin. Non-native people seldom are invited to such gatherings so it was a great honor. When we attended it was the beginning of a friendship bonding that would continue over the years.
Year after year John and his wife Rhona would travel to Wisconsin to these ceremonies. I would be there as well but usually traveled separately. John had two habits that drove me crazy. The first was that he had to stop at every museum along the way out to Wisconsin and back. The second was that he drove too slow. Never the less, he was a friend for life.
In 2014 John became ill with cancer. The one thing he wanted most was to take one more trip to ceremonies. I suggested that we go together to the ceremonies and he accepted. He wanted to go to two ceremonies that were a few days apart. The first at Rousseau River Rez in Manitoba CA and then to the one in Bad River, Wisconsin.
Our planned trip would be for three weeks. We left Massachusetts and stopped at museums along the way as we slowly drove to Rousseau River. We camped at night as we traveled and I could tell that it took a lot of effort for John. He had become weaker and lacked the stamina he had before his illness. I would put up his tent for him and help where I could.
When we arrived at Rousseau River and made camp we discovered why mosquitos in Manitoba are referred to as birds. They were everywhere and in attack mode most of the time.
We stayed at ceremonies there for four days and then continued our journey to Bad River, Wisconsin. The ceremonies were beautiful and ancient in form. This was the way of the indigenous people of this land for thousands of years. Four more days of camping and watching the ceremony fire at night.
We took the day to drive to Red Cliff Reservation near the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin, John always wanted to stop near any body of water to collect a sample of the beach sand. He told me that the make up of the sand is different in each place, During the day we stopped at several places for samples of the sand.
The parking lot was empty when we pulled in. We went in and picked up some sandwiches. As we came out another car pulled in. I was ahead of John headed for the car. Then John hollered out to me. "Jim, there is a lady calling out to you." I thought he must be delirious but I stopped. He continued: "she is calling out, Noodin!". stopped and turned to look. Standing next to the car that pulled in were two people, a man and a woman. The woman was Hannah Thomas! This could not be! Hannah was the first person to interview me about my book "Walking Spirit in a Native Way" on a podcast called "Heart Rising" a few years before. She lives in England so it made no sense to run into her at a way-stop, at 5:30am in the morning, on the Massachusetts turnpike. We only met for a moment due to Hannah's need to get to the airport. I gave her the medicine pouch a carry around my neck to offer her protection, a hug, and then we parted. John stood there with his mouth open knowing he was witnessing something that defied any odds.
Hannah and her husband were on there way to the airport to return to England. Her grandmother in Georgetown, NY had passed and they were returning from the funeral. Hannah had not been in the USA for twenty years. We were a day ahead of our scheduled arrival home since we had not stopped at my friends home for the night. What are the odds? To my way of understanding there are no coincidences.
A few months after our trip I got a call from John's wife Rhona. John had begun his travels to the next realm. Elders from Canada came to John's funeral to remember him. Elders Peter Schuler, Austin Miximong, Pellie Miximong from Canada and members of the Midewiwin Medicine Lodge along with Mike Lemesa and myself offered our pipes to help him on his way. That is my friend John Balco! I won't forget him!
Noodin
Comments
Post a Comment