In the News

Kellie is a little excited about a picture that ran in a local newspaper here yesterday. Take a look below:

Basketball Camp

Austin spent the last week in Basketball Camp. This is one of the many organizational activities we have planned for him this summer to help keep him occupied and outside the house.

Kellie Health Update

Since we last spoke in this forum about Kellie's ongoing headache problem, we were awaiting the delivery of her new glasses to determine if eye strain was a contributing factor. She did get the glasses, a red plastic design vice the zebra stripes she had picked out earlier, but as of yet, they have had no impact on the headaches, which continue at full strength.

We are trying to control them with painkillers, but this has had mixed results.

Cheering, Cheering, and possibly more Cheering

Last Saturday, Kellie exited her BDHS practice with news. During the practice, the BDHS cheer coach told her that she should try out for the BDHS competition team in August. This is in addition to the BDHS JV Team she is already on, and also in addition to the Cheer Dynasty squad she also belongs to.

Whether she tries out or not, Kellie was noticeably pleased that she had been noticed.

Lumbee Ring

For my birthday this year, Mom and Dad gave me the Lumbee ring. To date, whenever I have worn this, people have not failed to notice it, but I always field the same question: "What do the years signify?" The answer is that each of the four years on the face of the ring represent a significant event or milestone in the tribe's history.

1865	The beginning of Henry Berry Lowrie's rebellion against the death of his father and brother at the hands of the North Carolina Home Guard.
1887	The date of the establishment of the Croatan Normal School in Pembroke, NC. This teaching college has evolved into the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. This school was fundamental in bringing literacy to the tribe and allowing us to ducate both ourselves and our children.
1956	The Lumbee Act is passed by the US Congress. This act recognizes the Lumbee people as "The Lumbee Indians of North Carolina", but does not grant us full federal recognition. Efforts at full recognition continue to this day.
1958	The Lumbee make national news by confronting and dispersing a Ku Klux Klan rally in Maxton, N.C. This marks the end of the Klan's influence in Robeson County, NC.

The interested reader is encouraged to read more at:

Lumbee Tribe
Lumbee Wikipedia Page

Special recognition to Cyna's Jeweler's in Pembroke, NC. They are the designers and sole supplier of both the ring shown above and a wide selection of Lumbee jewelry. Take a look around. While you are there, take a look at this and see if you recognize the name of the designer. They also have their version of the ring history and they are the source of the ring image.

How old is the dishwasher?

Dishwashers may be older than you think, but not as old as Kellie would have you believe. Last week when Austin, Kara, and myself were in Pembroke for Lumbee Homecoming*, Tracy called me to inform me that something was wrong with the dishwasher. It turned out that the unit had washed its last dish and needed to be replaced. A new unit has been ordered and we are waiting its arrival later this week.

In the interim, we are washing the dishes by hand, which greatly amuses the kids since they have never really seen this done on a regular basis. When Kellie was told that until we get the new dishwasher installed all dishes would be washed in the sink, she responded with "You mean like they did in the 1600's?" Where did I go wrong?

*Tracy was unable to attend due to problems with the Sequoia. Something was wrong with the powertrain after she and the kids returned from the Outer Banks last week, and the car was in the shop. We were unable fit everyone, and this included the dogs, in the Passat, so she stayed home.