A Tale of Two White Men and Two Cups of Joe
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Once upon a time, two white men came from opposite sides of a city and found themselves huddling in the doorway of a darkened building, trying to escape the icy blast. Neither one had ever met the other; neither one had made arrangements to meet the other. Both had picked up the Native American paper the previous day and had read this advertisement:
"Language Table and Traditional Teachings: Tobasonikwut Kinew, an elder from the Onigaming First Nation, will be presenting Ojibwe teachings and philosophy every Thursday at 7pm. Nawayee Center School, Minneapolis. Everyone is welcome."
Both expected to be the only non-native person there. However, upon arrival and after two hard rings at the doorbell, the two realized they were the only two people there at all. After a minute of awkward introductions and the shuffling of hands in pockets to stay warm, the one with the longer beard suggested a local coffee shop.
Within minutes, both were seated at a small table in the middle of an empty cafe called the Wolves Den; one with black, the other with a cream-colored decaf. It didn't take them long to discover some extraordinary similarities - both had gone to college, both were interested in electrical engineering, both played drums, both had published a zine, and both had started a sort of vision-quest that very night to explore Native American Culture in order to better themselves and the world.
After a lift home, both wondered at the strange meeting and the seemingly uncanny circumstances. Both wondered what the next chapter in their story would be like.
Don't you?
Posted by Benjamin Washam 11:58 PM
Labels: Minneapolis
- nathanael