Seven o'clock. Harry Lightfoot licked the flap on the envelope, sealed
it shut, stuck some stamps on the front, and scrawled "AIR MAIL" under
the stamps. He dropped the letter into the "STATESIDE" slot. The exam
hadn't been so bad. What did they think he was, anyway? A city slicker
who had never seen a live cow in his life? He ambled into the off-duty
pilots' lounge. He had an hour to kill before going on watch, and this
was as good a place as any to kill it. The lounge was almost empty. Most
of the pilots must have been asleep. They couldn't all be in Mike's
game. He leaned over a low table in the center of the room and started
sorting through the stack of magazines.
"Looking for anything in particular, Harry?"
He turned to face the speaker. "No, just going through these fugitives
from a dentist's office to see if there's anything I haven't read yet. I
can't figure out where all the new magazines go. The ones in here always
seem to be exactly two months old."
"Here's this month's _Western Stories_. I just finished it. It had some
pretty good stories in it."
"No, thanks, the wrong side always wins in that one."
"The wrong ... oh, I forgot. I guess they don't write stories where your
side wins."
"It's not really a question of 'my side'. My tribe gave up the practice
of tribal life and tribal customs over fifty years ago. I had the same
education in a public school as any other American child. I read the
same newspapers and watch the same TV shows as anyone else. My Apache
ancestry means as little to me as the nationality of his immigrant
ancestors means to the average American. I certainly don't consider
myself to be part of a nation still at war with the 'palefaces'."
"Then what's wrong with Western stories where the United States Cavalry
wins?"
"That's a different thing entirely. Some of the earliest memories I have
are of listening to my grandfather tell me about how he and his friends
fought against the horse-soldiers when he was a young man. I imagine he
put more romance than historical accuracy into his stories. After all,
he was telling an eager kid about the adventures he'd had over fifty
years before. But at any rate, he definitely fixed my emotions on the
side of the Indians and against the United States Cavalry. And the fact
that culturally I'm descended from the Cavalry rather than from the
Apache Indians doesn't change my emotions any."
"I imagine that would have a strong effect on you. These stories are
really cheering at the death of some of your grandfather's friends."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account