You Always Remember Your Firsts...

There are first every-things that I can remember...

My first kiss with Marie, a girl I'd grown up with... My first time riding a bike and my first big wreck after my first big "stunt"... My first time driving a car at highway speeds... My first real love... My first child being born...

Now there is one more thing that will stick with me until my dying day... the memory of my very first Pau Wau!

Imagine, if you will, the grounds of a pau wau. For those of you who have never had the opportunity to see one before, permit me to describe it:

As you drive off the main dirt road and onto the even smaller dirt road that leads to the parking area, which is a field of grass, you first see a bunch of three-tiered benches that are covered with tin roofs. These benches/ bleachers form a circle around a central pole. On the far side, you look over and there is an announcer booth, complete with PA system. Behind the booth, there are about two or three booths from which concessions can be sold. (This one also had a baseball diamond near the pau wau area, though I'm not sure how common that is.)

Got the picture? Good. Now fill the bleachers with a bunch of Native Americans. Some of them had drums and coolers, and some were dressed to dance in traditional garb. Most of the cars were darker colored and mostly consisted of pickups or vans, with a few cars here and there. They were all getting ready to have a great day. Then, a white minivan pulled up.

Yes folks, that would be me and my family.

As we pulled in, I look to my wife and kids and then to everyone outside and think, "Oh, boy!"

I was there to watch one of my students dance. I dragged my family along for the experience. I was wondering what my wife was thinking then...

More later!

Wasichu-Witko
-Mr. X