Standing Strong by Gary Robinson

Author:Gary Robinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 7th Generation
Published: 2019-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

8

Dawn of a New Day

At first light the next morning, Rhonda awoke feeling fresh. Lying in her sleeping bag, she gazed up through the smoke hole of the tipi and saw clear blue sky above. Then she remembered last night’s dream and abruptly sat up.

Quickly she checked her wrists to see if there were new any cuts, but she found only the scars left from her failed suicide attempt back in March. Relieved, she rubbed her forearms. Same old skin as before.

Then something her therapist said popped into her mind. “Symbolically, death may not be the end of life, and if you dream of death, it probably means that the old you is dying so a new you can come to life. It’s a chance to begin again.”

That’s when the teen realized no one in the camp knew the old Rhonda, so she was free to reinvent herself and become a new Rhonda. How did that corny old saying go? Today is the first day of the rest of your life? Well, this day surely was.

She made a quick visit to the kitchen tent for a fast breakfast and set out to see what this new life would bring. Pam said she needed to find Billy Old Bull, head of the camp’s ground crew. So finding Billy was next on Rhonda’s agenda. He was described as being as big as a buffalo, tough as an ox, and yet as tender as a teddy bear.

She found a large Native man fitting that description supporting a long pole near the camp’s central tipi. With the help of two other Indian men who looked a lot alike, he was in the process of raising a flagpole that held the Standing Stone tribal flag.

“Could you grab that post-hole digger and clear a little more dirt out of that hole?” the big man asked Rhonda as she approached. “We got to get more depth to stabilize this thing.”

Seeing the tool laying on the ground beside the hole, the teen said, “Sure.”

Experienced with fence repairs back home, she picked up the post-hole digger and shoved the blades deep into the opening in the ground. With a few quick moves, she pulled several more inches of dirt out of the hole.

“Give that a try,” she said as she took a few steps back.

The three men slid the bottom end of the pole into the enlarged hole and hoisted the long shaft upward as they marched along its length. Their steady movement raised it to a vertical position. The two look-alikes began shoveling in dirt around the bottom of the pole.

Billy dusted off his large, stubby hands and asked, “Are you Rhonda?”

“Yep,” she replied as she shook his extended hand.

“Excuse the grease,” he said apologetically.

“Not worried about a little grease,” Rhonda said as she shook the man’s dirty hand, which felt like a vice clamp.

“Good at working outdoors?” he asked.

“Fair,” she answered. “Thanks to my uncle.”

Billy pointed with his lips at his two helpers, then added, “These are two of my go-to crew guys, Bo and Bubba.

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