Free Ben

Ben, dear friend I will miss you. On a Thursday you appeared in my trailer. You kept me company, following me from room to room. Chirping happily at night. Today you perched at the foot of my bed while I lay atop the covers to read. I want better for you Ben. You deserve the tall grasses, the wildflowers. There are many mosquitoes outside for you to have as breakfast (what do crickets eat). So Ben, while I will miss you my little 6-legged amigo, I will catch you in a mug and release you under the clothesline. Run free, Ben, run free!

The drive from here to Gallup and back is gorgeous, as I've said, and I have pictures this time to prove it. When I got back in the earlier afternoon I read most the day. I released Ben - in truth he was appearing lethargic and the fact he hung out on my bed while I was reading kind of made me sad. Then as I was chatting on the phone with my mom my doorbell rang. It was an old Zuni man. He made a move like he was coming into my trailer and I held where I was, not knowing who he was and a bit defensive. He then told me he had earrings he was selling, wanted to know if I would buy some jewelry. While his turquoise and silver jewelry were pretty (and I told him as much) I was more outraged that he would come to my trailer and try and sell it. Did word get around that the medstudent was living there? Does he visit the Zuni family next door to ask them to buy his earrings? I hope it doesn't happen again. It really was a stark reminder that no matter how comfortable I'm becoming on the reservation I am an outsider.