Oscar Meyers Part 2: Academia By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2005 Chapter 36 Riding in the limousine from the airport was a first for David Bear Claw. He couldn’t believe the luxury afforded students of the Druid College. Even Ohola U Tiwahe was quiet during the drive. Oscar, Georgia, and Debbie were watching the reactions of the guests. Oscar and Debbie found their reactions understandable while Georgia was amused. Finally, Oscar said, “They sent the limousine because Ohola U Tiwahe is an honored guest.” David asked, “Do you mean that they don’t normally have a limousine pick up students?” “It depends on what cars are available. Sometimes they send out a van, a sedan, or a limousine,” Georgia answered. “Oh,” David said. He looked out the window at the passing scenery. The trees were the same kind as back home, but they were different as well. For some reason, the bark was just a lighter color, the leaves a little smaller, and the shape different. They passed a field with cows. He smiled and said, “Cows are the same everywhere you go.” Surprised, Georgia asked, “Did you say cars or cows?” “Cows. I was just thinking that although we were driving past oaks, they were different from the oaks back home. When I saw the cows, I couldn’t help commenting that cows look the same everywhere,” David Bear Claw answered. Ten minutes later the limousine pulled into the drive in front of the college. Once it stopped, Oscar got out and held the door for everyone else making an exaggerated bow. Debbie looked around and said, “It is good be to home.” “Will you be spending the night here or at my place?” Georgia asked. Looking at the two women, Oscar wiggled his eyebrows in the manner of Groucho Marx. Moving his fingers as if he were flicking the ashes off a cigar, he said, “I’d like to spend it with you.” “That was a horrible imitation of Groucho Marx,” Debbie said. “That wasn’t Groucho Marx. It was his evil twin brother, Grouchy Marx,” Oscar said receiving groans from his two girlfriends. Even David Bear Claw looked at him in dismay. Oliver came out of the administration building and greeted the guests. “Hello Ohola U Tiwahe. It is an honor to have one of the members of the board for the Native American College come to visit us. I see you brought a student of yours with you.” “Yes. This is David Bear Claw,” Ohola U Tiwahe said. “Nice to meet you David Bear Claw. I see that you brought two of your classmates with you. He must be the famous Broken Horse and, of course, the young lady with him is the ever lovely Debbie,” Oliver said. David Bear Claw laughed on hearing Oliver make reference to Oscar’s nickname. He said, “And don’t forget the warrior woman, Georgia.” “The warrior woman. I like the sound of that,” Georgia said with a wink at Oscar. He made a little gesture as though he were firing a three inch long bow. Debbie laughed and said, “Warrior woman rides a broken horse; it kind of sounds like the title of a song.” Georgia sang, “I’m a Warrior, on a broken horse I ride. I’m ready nude and spread wide. Ready nude and spread wide.” “That was awful,” Oscar said with a groan despite the fact that having her ready, nude, and spread wide sounded very good. “Wait until I’m riding you tonight, Broken Horse,” Georgia quipped while giving him a threatening leer. Debbie laughed at the twinkle in Georgia’s eye and said, “I might join you in song tonight. Maybe we should consider going cowgirl style tonight.” Turning to Oliver, Oscar asked, “Why do I have a feeling that I’m going to be ridden hard and put up wet?” “Let’s get our guests settled,” Oliver said shaking his head. Somehow it seemed to him that Oscar, despite his protests, was much more relaxed than usual. Several days later, Oscar was in the first year dining room watching a very embarrassed David Bear Claw walk to a table holding his books in front of his crotch and his notepad behind his ass. He waited for the red-faced man to take his seat before he said, “Hello, David Bear Claw. Your blush gives a whole new meaning to red man.” “Shut up,” the young man griped. He couldn’t believe that he was walking around naked like that. Oscar laughed and asked, “What’s the matter?” “I’m walking around here with everything hanging out for anyone to see. This is wrong,” David Bear Claw growled. Although many people might not believe it, Native Americans, as a group, were much more reserved about showing emotions than others. Hugging, kissing, and other forms of affection were seldom demonstrated publicly. Walking around naked was too far from acceptable behavior for David to accept without feeling ashamed. “It is not that bad. At least you aren’t the only one naked,” Oscar said waving a hand to include the other students walking around in the same condition. “You’re one to talk. You’re still wearing your clothes,” David said pointing at the red robe. Oscar stood up and pulled the robe over his head. He dropped it on the chair beside him and sat down. Grinning at David, he asked, “Satisfied now?” “Not really. I’m still naked,” David said. He was impressed with how easily Oscar had stripped. “How are your classes?” “Much harder than I thought they would be. It seems that I don’t have much time to do anything except study,” David answered. He had been shocked when asked to leave his class when he had arrived late. “Yes, it is rather intense here,” Oscar said. He looked around the first year dining room remembering his first year. David was at a disadvantage having arrived in the middle of the school year. The rest of the students had already accommodated to being naked all of the time. They were also much further along in coming to understand the two rules. He said, “Lots of changes.” David Bear Claw was silent for a minute and then said, “Yes. There have been lots of changes and not all of them have to do with being here.” “What do you mean?” Oscar asked. “You’ve heard that Talks with Animals removed the curse that hung over our people. I imagine that it doesn’t mean much to you,” David Bear Claw said in answer to the question. “I haven’t thought about it much. I know that it is an important event for you and your people,” Oscar said. During his entire time at the Native American College, people made reference to William’s actions. He didn’t understand why it was such a big deal, but it was obvious by the way the others spoke that it was important. David Bear Claw looked at the table while trying to frame his next few words. He wasn’t a storyteller and didn’t know how to convey the importance of what he wanted to tell Oscar. For some reason though, he felt that Oscar needed to know the full story. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Before the curse was lifted, my people were miserable. We didn’t seem to have the strength or will to change our situation. Poverty, particularly on the reservations, was the norm. We had the highest rate of alcoholism of any minority in America. Many of our people were abusive to each other. We lived in a spiritual swamp. We were basically beggars, asking for every government handout that was possible. “When William lifted the curse, things changed almost overnight. Our thoughts cleared up. We regained the strength and will to improve ourselves without asking for handouts. Alcohol no longer had the ability to enslave us. Men and women began treating each other without abuse. Suddenly, we found that we had goals in life and the energy to pursue those goals. “It was like we had been living in a wheelchair and woke up one day to discover that we could walk. Not only could we walk, we could run and keep up with the best of the White Men. You hear us talk about that day, but I know that you can’t imagine how it affected us.” Oscar listened to what David Bear Claw said. When describing life after the curse, David’s voice had cracked with emotion. Looking across the room, but seeing nothing, David continued, “I remember that day. I was outside playing. Suddenly, it seemed as if a veil lifted from my eyes. The world was sharp and vibrant. It was the difference between watching an old black and white television and watching a high definition color television. For five minutes, I just stood there looking around at the world amazed by what I was seeing. “All of sudden, I felt a huge wave of energy descend upon me. I started running. I must have run ten miles. I wasn’t the only who had so much energy to burn. Other kids were running beside me. We were yelling and screaming with joy. “I came home to find that my mother had cleaned up the entire house. There wasn’t a thing out of place. The floors sparkled. I found my mother scrubbing the bathroom with tears in her eyes. At first, I thought she was sad, but then realized they were tears of joy. She hugged me and told me that all would be better. “My father had come home from the bar where he spent most of his days and started fixing up things that had been broken around the house. When I looked at my father, I could see that he was standing straight and carried with him a sense of pride that I had never seen before. “My father and I went to the hardware store and found that the shelves were almost empty. Others had beaten us there and had nearly cleaned the store out. My father spent almost all of our savings at that store. Returning home, I could see men out painting their houses, mowing their lawns, and fixing their cars. I had never seen so many men working with such energy and diligence. I felt driven to help my father and mowed the lawn when we returned home. “For the first time in years, we ate dinner together around the table and talked about what had happened in Arizona. That was when I first learned of the curse and what William had done. I was happy, but worried. I feared that life would return to normal the next morning when I woke. Having tasted of what life could be like; the thought of the veil returning was horrible. I think I would have killed myself if it had returned. “We have been running unfettered for years now. Coming here to this college, I realize that it is time for our people to learn a little discipline. We have three hundred years of failure to overcome. When I return to the Native American College... Well, that is the message I will bring with me.” Oscar had listened to the emotional rendering of what had been the most important day in the David’s life. He understood what David was saying. His experience in the Dust Devil had been just as life changing. Looking over at the young man, Oscar said, “You are right. Many will never understand the significance of that day. I do, but then I have experienced something much like that.” “What did you experience?” “I met my God,” Oscar answered. Looking over at Oscar, David nodded and said, “Yes. I think you do understand.” “I’m honored you chose to tell me your experience,” Oscar said. He considered what would be the long-term consequences of his future service. He wondered if people would describe what life was like before and after Oscar. It was a scary thought. David Bear Claw had actually surprised himself in telling his story to Oscar. He said, “I read a little bit about your past on the web.” This was the first time that David Bear Claw had actually expressed an interest in Oscar’s past. Surprised, Oscar asked, “What did you learn?” “I discovered that you are a great warrior. When you talked about having seen action in war, I thought you were just a regular soldier. You are more than that,” David Bear Claw said. “I am proud of my fellow soldiers, so many young men and women with their entire life before them. Each of them puts their life at risk to stand between evil and the innocent. They do so for family and country. It chokes me up when I think about others being willing to take such a risk on our behalf,” Oscar said. “I guess I never thought about it like that. You must have been a role model for them,” David said. Oscar burst out laughing. Shaking his head, he said, “I was not much of a soldier before I met my God. I was so bad that my fellow soldiers had nicknamed me Foo which was short for Fuck Up. There were times when they were more afraid of me than my enemy.” “I can’t believe that,” David said. “Believe it. I was not always this fine figure of a man that you see before you. I used to be a klutz,” Oscar said. He told about his childhood and his time in the army. He didn’t tell about his experience in meeting the God, but he did talk about what happened after that meeting. It was the first time that he had shared so much of his life with another person. The conversation lasted for several hours. The waitress came to the table providing beverages and snacks while they talked. Although David Bear Claw was missing classes, he was not concerned and Oscar wasn’t about to make an issue of it. When his study groups came to find David, Oliver intercepted them and sent them away so that they wouldn’t interrupt the discussion. While munching on a slice of apple, David Bear Claw asked, “What happened when you met your God?” Oscar was reaching for a cheese cube and stopped his action. Frowning, he said, “I can’t really talk about that.” “Why not?” David asked innocently. “It would be a lot like describing the first time you are intimate with your lover. You can share the experience with your lover, but not with other others. It just isn’t right talking about it,” Oscar answered. David Bear Claw thought about it and decided that Oscar was right. The interaction between a man and his God should be private. It reminded him of something that he had been told about Oscar. He said, “Ohola U Tiwahe told me that you were going to do something as significant for the world as what Talks with Animals did for us.” “I have a service to perform. I will do what I can, but success is never assured,” Oscar said thinking about the enormity of what the Two-Sided One had told him. “When do you start?” David asked. “Not for some time yet,” Oscar answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “What will you do until then?” Sitting back, Oscar answered, “I will live my life and enjoy the time that I have. I will visit friends. I will travel occasionally like a tourist. I will spend time with my wives and take comfort in their warm embraces. We will make love and experience all that life has to offer people who love each other. “I will continue my studies. Oliver has asked me to write some papers comparing the different religions. Rather than focusing on the differences, I thought I would write about the commonalities. Too many have tried to be divisive. I think that people have confused the ambitions of men throughout history with living the life requested in the messages given us by the powers that be.” David nodded his head and said, “That sounds nice.” “Yes, it does, doesn’t it?” .oOo. This is the end of Oscar Meyers: Academia.