Nishnabe

Bozho!

I am pleased to introduce to you Kiweden, Kishke kwe, and Zhawano.
Today, after the annual South Texas Regional Potawatomie meeting, Cameron, Brenna and Bryan formally received their Native American names. This solemn ceremony observes very old traditions. First an area is prepared with cedar by a woman; next a circle is made on the ground with an eastern door. A small fire is started with flint and steel. Before one can enter the circle, they must give water to Mother Earth and take tobacco. After entering the circle, they offer blessings to the four directions: North, South, East, West. (There is a creation story that gives more details and reasons for this.) The tobacco is given to the fire.

Chairman Barrett performed a pipe ceremony and blessed those who were to receive their names. Then he presented them with their names. The girls and Bryan had filled out their lengthy request for a tribal name earlier, and the Tribal Council used this - combined with family descendancy - to discuss and arrive at a specific name. After the Chairman pronounces the new name, everyone present repeats the name to each of the 4 Directions. The Spirit World then accepts and can recognize the face of the person.

Bryan's name reflects his family's strong heritage through Joseph Melott, one of the first families to make the trek from Kansas to claim their Oklahoma allotments. Joe Melott then returned to Kansas to lead others to Oklahoma. Bryan was given a name representing his family's compassion for taking care of others, Zhawano: the Southern Wind.

Brenna had the proudest look on her face when Chairman Barrett told her that she was being given a grown woman's name rather than a little girl's name. Her name reflects her responsbility in this world: Kishke kwe or Cedar Woman. Cameron stood tall and received the name Kiweden or Northern Wind, to represent her generosity to the people. All of these names directly relate to the creation story and the ceremony. Perhaps one day I'll find a book or site that gives me the full story. Right now I'm working solely on hearing it one time and I don't dare type it for the fear of making huge errors. I need to hear it again.

There were many elements of the ceremony that were really beautiful, and fragrant with the burning of the sweet grass, cedar, sage and tobacco. We spent a wonderful evening in the company of "Potawatomi family" celebrating each receiving their name. Many were in tears during this very moving and touching event. As part of the ceremony, everyone was required to also bring a food offering, which became a celebration pot-luck supper.

Bama Mine Gwabmen

Fishing Video

Karen recently blogged and included a digital movie of her boys at the creek. Inspired by this, I decided to try and upload this (slightly boring) digital movie I took of Bryan showing Cameron how to cast. (It's only 19 seconds long.) If this works, you might be seeing much more of my girls, in action!

Be sure to turn up the volume!! No, nothing scary will pop out at you. I want you to be able to hear all of the birds. In person, it was overwhelmingly loud, so you can actually hear them a little on the video. I believe the noisemakers are primarily cardinals.






(Apparently I blogged it too soon after uploading. If you're reading this and the video isn't coming up and it's about 1:30 p.m. central time on Wed., then come back again later. I don't have any idea how long it will take YouTube to process an uploaded video.)

Spring Break

After working two days and sending the girls to daycare, I took off the last of the week and we headed out to Harwood. When we returned from the grocery store on Wed, it started hailing outside. We experienced hail again on the drive to Mom's, so we weren't sure what kind of weather or flooding to expect at SBR. It had been raining for the past three days out there.

But the rain tapered off just before Flatonia, and the roads, while muddy, didn't have water on the low spots anymore. Even better, all three tanks (ponds) were full and Dad reported the hog waller had water running in it! (I didn't get to see that.) Thursday we headed out with Lisa, Ashley & Daniel to Seaworld San Antonio. I knew it would be crowded, but wasn't expecting it to be quite THAT CROWDED. It was packed, and we got there about 10 a.m. Apparently record crowds came out after being house-bound for the first three days of spring break. Still, the kids had a great time. They played, rode the Shamu Express, and saw three shows. But the lines...... whoa.

Friday dawned another beautiful day, a little cooler, and Mom & I took the three girls into Gonzales, where they fired the first shot of the Texas Revolution. Our first stop was the Old Jail Museum, which the girls loved. Who knew they would be so intrigued by the mammoth stone, concrete and steel building, full of iron cells and etched graffiti. The second and third floor gave me the creeps. The girls also played around the Gonzales County Brand Monument. Gonzales is cattle country and the starting point of many cattle drives in the post-Civil War "cowboy" era. We took a good look at the Texas Heroes Monument sculpted by Pompeo Coppini, and the Confederate Heroes Monument sculted by Frank Teich.

On Saturday the kids played outside all day. Literally. Dad & Bryan spent the day putting on a roof to the new pumphouse. I rode with them into town (Luling) to pick up the siding and roofing material. It took them all day and into the dark to get the roof framed and finished. Meanwhile, the kids were "riding" on the gate leading into the yard and broke the top hinge clean off.

Sunday morning, Bryan finally took our girls fishing. He had promised to do it Saturday, but .... well, they had a roof to put on. It was about 8:30 a.m. and just so beautiful. We walked to the back pond and found a few good places to cast, but didn't catch anything. Brenna had a nibble (which made Cameron jealous), but the fish got away. We saw a turtle poking his nose to stare at us a few times. And the birds! The cardinals were so loud - it was never quiet out there that morning.

Actually, we saw more wildlife this time than in recent visits. Cameron & I walked to the front pond on Wed. early evening and saw a great blue heron fly away (we had startled it.) Then we saw a doe come out of the woods - she stared at us, while we stared at her. As we walked away, she came closer to us and ran around very playfully. When Dad drove in that night there was a huge armadillo (the first live one I've seen out there) waddling around by the gate. We also saw red male cardinals in the trees, a woodpecker, the usual turkey vultures. I heard, but did not see, turkeys. We also watched the four little calves playing in the field. Friday night Dad chased away a possum that was nosing around the garbage on the back porch. At first the possum didn't seem to be a bit concerned about Dad and kept about its business, but he did scurry away when Dad started sweeping the broom at him.

The wildflowers are just beginning to bloom, with fields of red phlox already popping up. Bluebonnets could be seen occasionally, with Indian Paintbrushes.

I didn't post any photos, because I didn't have a camera with me. Bryan had it for work - so all the photos of this SBR visit are with Lisa & Mom. Perhaps if they send some to me, I'll update and post some photos.

Going ashore

Day 5 - February 26
Morning arrives early, before dawn on departure day. A loud noise awakens me at 5:30, so I get up and looked out the window. The stars were shining – but I didn’t recognize them. Galveston Island is a shining glow of lights in the near distance. An oil tanker passes so close that it appears to fly next to us. The window is cold.

Wake up girls. Wake up Bryan. Go outside on balcony to watch us enter the channel between the jetties, passing the east end, and the old Big Reef park. Once dressed, packing up the carry on bags is relatively easy. I went over to Mom’s to see if they needed any help, and came back with a warm happy baby, Laurie. Bryan & I and the girls played with her while the other families finished packing things up.
Now it's after 7 a.m. and we are supposed to be cleared from our cabins. There is a paper schedule that directs us to wait in the theater area of Deck 4 for our turn to leave, but we haven't had breakfast yet. En masse, we head to the bow of the ship and go up the elevator to Deck 9 for the Windjammer, but immediately see there is no available space anywhere, so turn back and head for Deck 4 (ah- the crowded deck where you leave) to try and get into the King & I restaurant. After a bit, we are seated (again at two tables!. For the sake of ease or just coincidence, we all order the two-egg breakfast.


Almost immediately after eating, our number is called out and it's time for us to get off the ship!

Cameron & Ashley go off arm in arm....


Our happy journey has come to a close. Cameron can't help but give the ship one last look.


We walk off and wait in a long hallway to go into the large room where all our luggage is grouped by our number/color. Here we also began filling out the mandatory customs forms.

The girls entertain Alexander by signing Christmas Carols. We get the usual odd looks and occasional smiles from passersby. After identifing all of our bags (it could have been in its own group....) we got a porter and stood in line for customs. Surprise - our porter was someone Bryan & I recognized from the old neighborhood (his parents lived several doors down) so we caught up on the news.


EZ Parking had to send a refurbished school bus to pick us all up, but very quickly we were loading our cars and saying good bye. We were actually in our own house by 9:30 a.m.

What did we do the rest of the day? Laundry, groceries and.....

Cruise photo

This is the other photo that we purchased from the cruise photographer. There was one more than I still think of often, but they were just so expensive.

At Sea

Day 4 - February 25

Now that the boat is headed north toward home, we are on the west instead of the east. So we have no more spectacular sunrises. Still, the lightening of the sky was quite beautiful despite not seeing the actual sunrise. We all slept in til 7 a.m. Bryan went to run and work out in the Fitness center, and I took the girls to the Windjammer for breakfast. We also sat in the warm morning sun.

Right as we were finshing our breakfast, the whole family walked in. We moved over to sit with them, and I held Alexader –a happy playful boy this morning his 8 mos birthday.

I took Cameron up to Kids Club at 9 a.m. She took one look at the daily schedule, which started with hula hoop contest and continued with various dances throughout the morning and practically ran inside. Brenna wanted to wait and go in with Ashley, so we waited for her. I took several photos of the ship while I was out.

I found Bryan back in the stateroom, so we went back up to the Windjammer, where he ate breakfast and I typed about yesterday’s adventures. We were there quite a long time, sitting at a little bar table facing the port side of the ship – watching the swells and whitecaps out and away from the ship.

Later we strolled around the ship for a while. We went into the shops on the Centrum and bought a photo album and a Christmas ornament. The ornament matches the one we bought from NCL in 1998. Who knows, perhaps one day we’ll have a tidy little collection of cruise ship ornaments.

We picked up all three girls at 11:45 a.m. and went back to the staterooms to meet for lunch. Cameron was not happy. Apparently there were too few people to have the hula hoop contest and she didn’t really enjoy herself at all. Brenna, on the other hand, had a marvelous time and was happy as a lark.

We went to King & I dining hall for lunch. This was my first lunch there, and I loved it. They had a pasta station to fix your pasta and it was delicious. They offered penne pasta with red sauce, cream sauce or pesto. Cameron ordered red sauce with garlic, bacon, ham, black olives, and mushrooms, with fresh grated parmesan on top. It was fabulous. I ordered the white cream sauce with sautéed garlic and onions, bacon and mushrooms, with parmesan. Delicious.

After lunch we took both girls upstairs for a nap. Cameron laid down with a book on the bed and read, but didn’t fall asleep until I told her she had to close her eyes. Bryan fell asleep almost instantly. Brenna lay on the couch with me as I watched a little “Wedding Singer”, and eventually she was fast asleep also.

All morning it had been sunny, blue skies, and warm. While the others slept, I opened up balcony window. About 15 minutes later, we entered an overcast fog and the temperature dropped about five degrees. A very marked difference in weather and getting foggier in the distance ahead.

Lisa knocked on the door at 4 p.m. to see if I was going to the Yoga class. Bryan said he would get the girls ready for dinner. The class was moderately challenging. Lisa said she was impressed I’m still so flexible. There were two of the Splendor of the Seas dancers in the Yoga with us.

After getting ready for dinner, we took the girls downstairs to ask the photographer to take photos of the girls. One of them I posted earlier (see Girls; between Day 1 and 2)

This was our last dinner with our waiters. Matulu Agnoz from Turkey – speaks three languages, 3 months into a 6 month contract with RCL, getting married in August. Dwayne Findlay our assistant waiter from St. Vincent is a friendly fellow, very good with the kids. He taught Daniel to bump fists, pump chest and give peace sign. Very cute watching Daniel try and do this.

The waiters came out and sang a farewell song and everyone twirled their napkins over their heads. We gave a toast to Mom & Dad with the non-alcholic drink. Ashley made a really cute toast, but I’ve already forgotten it. Brenna wouldn’t give a toast. Cameron said something first…. but again it’s gone from my mind.

After dinner, I took the girls to the farewell show. Before they started, they played highlighs from the DVD they are selling. I watched this and wondered if the camera crew were on the same cruise. I didn’t recognize anything except the muster drill. Most of the images were taken from the pool area (Sexiest legs contest; belly flop contest) and bars (Disco 70s night, parties.)

Leo Pappa, the cruise director, gave his Top 10 list of stupid questions, such as:

1. “Does this elevator go to the front of the ship?” (The is the Splendour of the Seas, not the Starship Enterprise.)


2. “What time is the midnight buffet served?"


3. “Does the crew sleep on board?” (That's one heck of a daily commute...)


4. "Does the ship generate its own electricity?” (We have this BIG extension cord plugged in at Galveston…)


5. "Is the toilet water fresh or salt water?” (Who cares? I can give you two reasons not to worry about it #1 and #2.)


6. “What happens if I flush the toilet while I’m still sitting on the seat?” (It's a vacuum flush.)


7. "If the pictures aren’t marked, how will I know which ones are mine?”
   

A small show before the main entertainment, involed a black background and black light and fluorescent colored puppets. Then a lady and two men from Argentina performed a rhythmic dancing/drumming/boletos display. Very engaging, entertaining, awesome and fun group. Ole!

Back in the room after the show, we had to pack. All luggage must be out in the hallway before midnight. So we had to change into pajamas, set out clothes and toiletries for tomorrow, and pack everything else. Anything left in the cabin we would have to carry with us tomorrow.

Cozumel, Mexico

Day 3 - February 24

Saturday morning, wake up at 5:58 a.m. and pull back the curtains to see the sky lightening, changing color. Sit outside joined alternatively by Brenna and Cameron and even Bryan once as the sun rose out of the sea, red ball coming up; at first able to look at it, but quickly growing so bright we squint and shade our eyes even to look at the water. I love the sunrises, even though they look so much like the sunsets.

First thing we noticed is the air is wonderfully warmer! Even with the sunrise only minutes past we can tell the cold weather of yesterday is over. We can see Cozumel in the near distance, and the ship is closing the distance.

Breakfast over before 8 a.m. and from the Windjammer windows we have watched the boat weigh anchor maybe a thousand yards from the dock, and we heard the roar of the engines from the tender.

Since the weather was warm, and the ship on anchor with streams of people disembarking for excursions, we naturally headed upstairs to the aft where we found the miniature golf course still and quiet. We had so much fun, were able to take our time, laughing as we played on this faux course. Bryan taught Brenna to “sight the ball” by laying down her club to line up the ball with the hole, and then use that as a guide to position her feet. Once she did that, he showed her how to hold the club, and swing. She did with great success. Eventually she was able to place her own feet in the proper position without needing to lay down the club first.

A few humorous moments – she would lay down the club, position her feet, and as she picked up the club, it would swing and knock the ball away. Another thing I caught her doing without a second thought would be to lay down the club, then pick up and move the ball to be in line and play it from there. She had no idea she wasn’t supposed to be doing this.

Cameron would play ahead, and the come back and replay the same hole with us. A few holes were more difficult than others and we had such a great time – alone – without worrying about hurrying or letting others play through or being noisy, that this stands out as my second favorite part of the day (after the sunrise).

Back to the room to prepare for our day at the beach in Cozumel. Swimsuits, coverups, bags, towels, sandals, swim shoes, sunscreen. Tendering in meant going down the elevator to Deck 1, waiting in line to walk a gangplank onto a ferry that takes us to the downtown dock.

Once on dock, we walk to where the dock joins the main avenida, past stands or kiosks of various offers for tours: rent a moped, snorkel, dive, horseback riding, etc. Almost all of the same offers available through the excursion desk.

We found the taxi stand area and David set to haggling, easy enough, one driver offered his van to all 10 of us for $30; however, once we had loaded the girls in, we became aware of some rapid Spanish being spoken outside and then we had to get the kids out. Then David was speaking again and we put the children back in. It seems that they have an 8 person limit in the vans, and a supervisor or union boss was there to enforce it. So we had 7 in the van for $30 and David, Leah & Brian J. in a cab behind us for another $15.

The drive to Playa Mia was uneventful, a blacktop asphalt road about four car lanes across, with no lane markings of any kind. In fact, he drove all across the road – passing on the left …most of the time.

Town looked predominantly rebuilt, but as we drove away from downtown, signs of Hurricane Wilma in the late fall of 2005 were clearly evident. In more than one place, a road sign for Playa ---- marked an area where no sand or beach or buildings existed, though foundations sat in the water, and vegetation bent over, trampled. Away from that, and closer to Playa Mia, more evidence of rebuilding, large homes under construction, some vacant, deserted, half in the water.

Even Playa Mia is not 100% reopened, the villeta shop area has recently been rebuilt, but not entirely restocked, reopened. The children’s playground is restored/rebuilt, but behind a construction zone. The duration of our stay the sounds of hammers on concrete peppered our conscience.

We staked out beach chairs – plastic curvy “form-fitting” molded chairs – on the second row next to an aisle and took the four kids into the water. Initially cold, we adjusted well enough to go in about mid-thigh, and the girls splashed without much attention to the temperature. However, I was simply not in a water-splashing beach mood.

Poor Brenna got so cold that I wrapped her up in a towel and set her in the chair to sunbathe. She was so adorable in her hat, sunglasses and towel, resting, warming from the sun. I put ample sunscreen on her nose and cheeks. I also reapplied sunscreen to both of us before we went into the pool.

While Brenna and I were sunning, the beach area became considerably more crowded. A large Party Boat docked a little ways down – music blaring. The row in front of us became settled, and the aisle disappeared. The childless group lit up cigars, drank, and were talking loudly. Leah & David moved up to the pavilion area. Lisa & Brian/Bryan brought in the kids and we packed it in also.

The pavilion was simply a very large concrete area covered with a white canopy. David ordered two kinds of nachos and several drinks. Lisa took the kids in the pool – where the water was colder than the Gulf.

After swimming in the pool, we regrouped at the pavilion. David & Leah went to sun themselves by the pool in lounge chairs. We made the decision to bring the kids into the Gulf for a little more swimming before we leave.

It was our intention to do a little on-shore shopping, but the girls were starving, so we rode back on board with them. Once on the ship, we went to the Solarium and let the girls have pizza and French fries. Mom & Dad wanted to go ashore so once again we rode out, docked, and enjoyed a nice though short visit in the downtown tourista shopping area. I let the girls pick out a little silver bracelet.

Upon approaching the plaza, which was blooming with colorful hibiscus and other plants, Brenna saw PaPa sitting on the wall. She began to run, and immediately tripped and scraped her knee. Eventually we all boarded the tender and rode back to the ship. Once we were at the side of the ship, and the plank extended, the tender rocked so hard that no one could cross over. The gangplank was attached to the ship and tender with a slight incline toward the ship, but when the tender rocked, the gangplank threatened to touch the top of the tender doorway. It would rock, then settle, and more people could exit, then rock again and we would wait for it to settle.

Returning to the ship, we entered a mad dash to see how fast we could shower and change for dinner. During dinner, the waiters (Mutulu on left; head waiter in red jacket) brought out a Happy Anniversary cake for Mom & Dad.

After dinner, Bryan took the girls back to the stateroom to go to bed, while I went downstairs with Mom, L&L to play Skip Bo. We played three rounds and then headed back to bed. It had been a long wonderful day.