This is a terribly ugly instrument that was donated to a local music store. The music store couldn’t find anyone to take it, for free. Perhaps it was that oh-so-attractive, sickly silver sparkly stuff that coated the instrument like a shroud. And the garbage accessories, horrible cattle fence strings, etc. They asked if I could do something ith it, maybe.
At first glance, I wanted to throw it in the dumpster. But then I looked harder. You can find potential in the strangest places, really.
Well. This Chinese violin that some maniac spray painted the color of a 2004 Chrysler had some surprises upon close examination. A violin is not junk because it is Chinese. The Chinese can make really excellent violins, actually, and I’ve seen plenty of crappy European ones. So, I looked hard at the instrument itself. First, I noticed it had real purfling, or inlaid wood, around its edge. That’s a plus. Then, I looked in the F hole and saw real maple in there, and the top plate was clearly tight-grained spruce. While I was looking in the F hole, I glanced at the bass bar. It seemed the more-or-less correct profile, height, and length. Trust me, not all inexpensive violins have these things.
A good violin must have good wood. This is not an option. With spruce and maple, you have the foundations.
Hey, it was free. So, I took it. It didn’t deserve to go in the trash.
Thus began a three week odyssey that isn’t over by any means.
The image above is my Grandfather, born in Sibley Indian Housing, Mendota, Minnesota, in 1910.
My mom’s family had a deep relationship with horses, and I’d bet that everyone reading this’s families did, too. It’s just that ours is, in most cases, more recent than most. The very last horse in my extended family died this year, an elderly mare cared for by my aunt.
This marks a departure from a tradition going back into deep time, both with the whites and the Indians.
Actually the history with the whites goes back much further than the Indians, who got their horses, known as Sunkawakhan, or “sacred dog,” in the late 1600’s. Of course, the relationship with the horse amongst the Dakota was different than with the whites because their respective religious beliefs.
The whites, Christians, believed the horse was simply another tool, as God had given people dominion over the earth and its creatures. Animals do not possess souls or spirits. They and the land can be exploited at whim.
The Dakota believe that horses, and all other creatures, are part of us, creation, and we all have spirits and are equal. You don’t mistreat animals because they are relatives, kindred spirits. We, the animals, and the land are the same.
These are two distinct philosophies, and I’ll leave it to you to decide which you prefer.
I was raised white, mostly, but there were always “weird” things involving animals. There were other things as well, hidden remnants of our Dakota past. Now that I know the full story, warts and all, I’m not surprised, and some things that seemed strange as a kid make sense.
Some of my earliest memories involve horses. I was never a good rider, or particularly inclined to an interest in them, but I spent a lot of time around them. An obligation was their care. I can’t tell you how many times I curry combed, picked hooves, fed, etc. our horses. It was a lot. I’ve shoveled mountains of horseshit, and I’ve carried many tons of hay.
My mom told me that “Horses are your brothers, your best friends.” The church told me otherwise. Who was I to believe, my mom, or the preacher?
As a boy, I could see the souls in their eyes, and I called bullshit that they wouldn’t go to heaven—because they were things, to use up and exploit.
As a nine-year-old, I didn’t think that was right. I still don’t.
We and the land, and the creatures therein, are the same. Haven’t we had enough of laying waste to everything? Killing those who believe slightly different versions of the same thing? Casting out and abusing those who deviate from what one group or the other declares “normal?” Isn’t God supposed to be love? Because I’m not seeing much of it in today’s discourse. No. What I see is rampant hypocrisy, and elaborate justifications for the unjustifiable. I see people who want violence to punctuate their bored, seemingly pointless existences.
Me, I’ve had a belly full of fighting. Had enough misery, poverty, and want—the schools of the good soldier, to paraphrase Napoleon. I’ve had it up to here with people who want nothing but to dominate others, to force them to take their views, or die.
This is no way to live, and my ancestors of various stripes and creeds ran from this, or fought back, at times leaving their blood laying around in pools. I can’t escape the ancestors, nor do I want to. Because we are the land, and the people and animals therein are to be treated as brothers, with respect and dignity.
The ancestors also say that when your people are in danger, that whoever comes to threaten, chooses his path to the grave.
This is also the way. The land must be fed.
That’s the thing about wheels, or circles. They just keep on rollin’, and the cycle repeats. Each generation thinks they are hot shit, and their elders always clutch their pearls. The Great War folks roundly lambasted the Jazz Era generation as lazy, good-for-nothing, pleasure seeking idiots.
Huh. Pretty funny. That group of “degenerates” went on to crush the Nazis, and were later venerated as the “Greatest Generation.” Of course, the term “Greatest Generation” is kind of bullshit, because it implies that no one else will match them. I disagree. I have faith in our kids, because they are descendants of hardened survivors. They just haven’t had the right prompts, for which I am eternally grateful.
But the wheel keeps rolling, and tests, accompanied by pain, are coming.
I wish it weren’t so, but it is.
All of us, in the final analysis, return to the land. Some earlier than others, but no one escapes. It’s a question of how hard you want to deny this, or fight it; it matters not.
IMO Rhiannon Giddens is one of the amazing talents of this generation.
I decided to talk about something I enjoy today, as opposed to dwelling on the developing train wrecks around the globe. There’s nothing to be gained from that.
I found Rhiannon while surfing YouTube for good fiddle songs. Yes, she plays the violin. She’s also a prodigy on the banjo, and plays everything from simple tunes like Cripple Creek and Shake Sugaree to incredibly complex pieces like Spanish Mary.
She has become one of my very favorites to listen to on the rare occasions when I feel like just kicking back and listening to tunes.
In other news, I’m laying the groundwork for a new alt-history novel. This one is based in a very different, plausible, Second World War.
Usually, I don’t go political here, and try to studiously not pick any sides in the toxic wasteland that is the current US political environment. Today, except for the obvious and non-obvious political implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling, is no exception.
I think today’s Supreme Court ruling, Trump v. United States, was the worst ruling since the Dred Scott decision. I am not picking sides today, either, except for the American system to which I devoted a large fraction of my life to defend.
If you are a Donald Trump supporter, I ask that you read this entire piece before you pass judgment on this article. I’m not complaining about the downside for the potential prosecution(s) of the former President. This decision is very bad for Americans writ large, and not just for people who dislike Donald Trump. If you are a supporter of Donald Trump, you have no reason to cheer this decision, either. Read on, please. You’ll see.
While it is true that this decision immediately benefits the former President, I stipulate that this is a sword that cuts in both ideological directions. Let me explain my reasoning.
The Chief Justice, in crafting the majority opinion, states as follows:
“…the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclu- sive constitutional authority. And he is entitled to at least presump- tive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts.”
A seemingly extreme case was cited in the arguments whereby a President orders Seal Team Six to execute a political opponent. This argument was never refuted by the text of the ruling, and Justice Sotomayor explicitly addressed this particular, seemingly bizarre, instance in her dissent. She states (as paraphrased by ABC News):
‘When the president “uses his official powers in any way, under the majority’s reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution,” she continued. “Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune.”‘
Think about this, and think about this hard.
Joe Biden is still President. He will be President until January, perhaps longer. He is now immune from criminal prosecution for any official acts taken during his tenure as President of the United States. The Supreme Court, in their majority opinion, says so. He cannot be held criminally liable at ANY POINT for ANYTHING that he orders, now, and for the next six months or longer, within the “scope of his duties as President.”
President Biden doesn’t need Seal Team Six to take care of his problem for him. He has, indisputably, command authority over the armed forces. He may not be prosecuted, as of today, for conversations held with, or orders given to, Federal Law Enforcement.
He could pick up the phone, speak with Merrick Garland, and say— “Order one of Trump’s Secret Service agents to shoot him in the head.” This is not theoretical. He has this power RIGHT NOW.
Donald Trump dies, and Joe Biden can never be prosecuted. This is real, and it’s effective immediately.
As Joseph Stalin was purported to say, “Death solves all problems. No man—no problem.”
This, my friends, was a terrible decision. It furthers the corrupt aims of potential future Presidents, and it casts a ghastly light upon decisions President Biden could take tonight if he chooses to do so. There is nothing to stop him. This decision paves the way for real treason. To quote the English author Harington:
“Treason doth never prosper, what’s the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it Treason.”
This ruling guarantees that once elected, a President can be held criminally liable for nothing “within the scope of his official duties.” Nothing! Yes, you say, “But he can be impeached!” I counter that he could simply order the Army to shoot Congress, and I am right. The prospective impeachment goes away. Read the plain text of the ruling.
This is madness, and one side or the other will take advantage.
The Interstellar Valley 