A Quickie.

Whenever I'm reminded of stereotypes, it gets me thinking.

No, South Dakota does not have a Norwegian accent. I know we have some sort of accent, but it's definitely not Norwegian. That's farther north/east. And in my family, I know we don't have Norwegian blood, so we can't have the accent logically. In fact, my family is German-Russian to be specific. Plus, my grandparents, great aunts/uncles, and farther back all continued to speak German even after settling in the US. Essentially, my family didn't settle here until after the Civil War. Short time in retrospect, huh?

Plus, just look at how many journalists come from South Dakota, let alone the Midwest. We have the least distinct accent, so it's most appealing for a neutral newsy voice. :)

It's funny, though. People still believe that we have to defend our homes from the Indians. Really? Really? Many of the Native Americans won't even leave the reservations because they don't have the motivation to, and when most of the aren't even sober...yeah. It takes a very special Native American to break from the hold of their history and make a name for themselves. It's happened, but when most would rather just live off of free money, then spend it on alcohol purchased in the gas stations juuuust on the other side of the reservation's border in Nebraska? It's a harsh reality. I'm just glad to have met those who have learned to make something of themselves.

I guess my problem is that while the alcoholic, no-good stereotypes aren't indicative of all Native Americans, it's hard to believe anything else when that's all you've had contact with. I've met plenty of them that are really nice and know how to make a living. Now in the case of my uncle, he was a cop in Pierre. Pierre is just a hop and a skip away from many of the reservations in SD. And as a cop, the job does not really allow for much contact with decent people. Therefore, my uncle has only had contact with the no-good Native Americans. So I really don't blame him for becoming disillusioned that there are good people out there. But there are, and I'm not a fan of generalizations.

And no, we don't live in teepees. Amg, they don't have air conditioning! :/

Let's Hope There Isn't a Third Person...

Something's in the water this summer. Yeah, that must be it... In short, I've lost two people in the past couple of weeks. One I didn't know all that well, the other one of my heroes. Both of them had shown me kindness to me, though, just in different ways.

My grandfather passed away on Memorial Day. It was almost too fitting, my grandpa the WWII vet passing away on the day that our nation remembers our soldiers and veterans. He sacrificed so much for our country, and the military book he put together of his papers and photos is a fantastic compilation of that. And I'm proud that he passed it on to me, because I really love looking through the book.

Then yesterday, June 9, Tim Waterman died. And really, the feelings that I have on the matter go something like this.....Goddamnit, Tim! Why did you have to go and take the coward's way out? You were one of the strongest kids I knew. You made life your bitch, not the other way around. You had friends that loved you, a girlfriend that loved you (even though you seemed to have plenty of those around), and a whole crew of cage fighters who would skin their own hides before letting anyone talk shit about you. I know that many felt intimidated by you (myself included), but it only took a few conversations with you that I learned you had a soft spot. You showed me respect and kindness and weren't an arrogant asshole, unlike some people I know....and you earned every ounce of respect that you received. Tim, if you were going to end up anywhere, I expected it to be in jail laughing at the world, not six feet under....you're sorely missed. I'm glad that I was able to share a handful of classes with you, four years of high school with you, and even more glad that I got to witness two of your years on the wrestling team. For placing third at State, you won't be forgotten.

It's pretty typical, actually. Even in death, Tim knows how to piss people off. Good thing we respect the hell out of him too much to think much of anything else.

I think I'll go into my grandpa later on. In the meantime, I've been using The Sims 3 as a coping/procrastination tool. I have a scholarship letter that I need to get done this week, but I don't have the motivation to do it. :P