The Drifting Tumbleweed

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Chapter IV: Gil Sanderson

Tony arrived home after his shift to a dark house and his wife in bed. Which told him that yes, Sheila was still mad he chose to go into work every night instead of hiding out at home. He fixed himself a quick bite to eat while mulling over the events of the night.

As he reviewed what he knew, he felt pretty certain Larry or Eddy would be the next victim. Maybe both. While neither one seemed too drunk when they left the bar he couldn’t figure out why they would leave together. Why would a guy like Larry choose to hang out with Eddy – Eddy? That made no sense. No one in town willingly hung out with Eddy.

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The Drifting Tumbleweed

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Chapter III: Eddy Edwards

Tony was so focused on Larry that he wasn’t paying attention to Eddy’s incessant chatter. But that was fairly typical. Eddy liked to talk and while he seldom found an audience, in The Drifting Tumbleweed no one made him stop. They just tuned him out. One time on a slow winter night, Tony started closing up a little early. Eddy was the only customer in the bar and started telling a story about his military days which was his favorite topic. Tony went to the back and did his nightly closing routine of closing everything down. It took at least fifteen minutes. When he came back, Eddy was still engaged in his story. Tony didn’t think Eddy even noticed he wasn’t in the room for a good portion of the the story.

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The Drifting Tumbleweed

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Chapter II: Larry Dowd

It should probably be mentioned at this point, that Tony Twomoons did not, in fact, wish anyone any harm. Ever. His personal mantra aligned with ‘live and let live’. But that was the problem in the area at the moment. Not all the people were being allowed to live, were they? Someone had taken it upon themselves and started robbing other people of the most precious gift – the gift of life. For whatever reason, the fact that the victims had all been up to this point Native American and not white like the stranger that walked into the bar did not factor into Tony’s quick succession of thoughts. He also couldn’t explain why he naturally assumed the stranger would be another victim and not the killer. All Tony knew is when the stranger walked into the bar, Tony thought the blond-well-coiffed man with the popped up collar would be a victim not a perpetrator.

The stranger didn’t exactly do anything to change Tony’s mind either.

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The Drifting Tumbleweed

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Chapter I: Tony Twomoons

            Tyee Twomoons stood behind the bar drying glasses.  His face expression hard as flint.  Newcomers often made the assumption that he didn’t notice anything.  That assumption was generally incorrect but typically lacked tangible proof.  The regular patrons had learned not to underestimate what Tyee observed.  Many a bar fight had been settled by Tyee recounting the events leading up to the brawl.  No one could dispute his word.  Tyee’s version was always accepted as fact and unruly patrons soon found themselves on the other side of the door if they attempted to argue.  In the Drifting Tumbleweed Bar, Tyee’s seldom heard voice was law.

Although when he wasn’t on the reservation and here at the bar he was known as Tony Twomoons. While he grew up in an orphanage on the reservation his school was in town and only hired white teachers. None of his teachers could pronounce his first name. Until one teacher didn’t even try to say it and just called him Tony. Everyone could pronounce Tony so he just accepted it. It saved him the repetition of pronouncing his name at every roll call. Now he was usually surprised when he heard his own name and sometimes forgot to answer to Tyee.

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Thicker than Water

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If you have been alive for more than a minute, you might have heard this saying a time or two: blood is thicker than water. If you have, you are nodding your head. If you haven’t, let me explain. This has become the obligatory theme of families suggesting that a family member should always take precedence over anyone else. Family should always come first! Family should be above everyone else! I might have already lost a reader or two that might have experience this is not always a truth to adhere to. In a perfect world, this would be a fundamental truth. But you and I both know this is not a perfect world. It has become more of a you choose your family for the most part. So it might surprise you, as it did me, the original saying and meaning of this adage.

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