Monday Update

I'll take a minute away from studies to do a quick update. Kimberly and I attended a Lenape pow wow at Cedar Creek Park yesterday. God sent a series of interesting messengers to get us to this pow wow, which is not far from where we live. I was jogging at Cedar Creek Park last week when a van full of Apache Indians from California pulled up in front of me. I met a beautiful, celestial, angelic Apache woman dressed in her native regalia who had shown up a week too early for the pow wow. She told me there was supposed to be a pow wow at Cedar Creek Park and also told me where to go to see the white buffalo. While trying to find out if there was such a pow wow, we found out there was one in Monaca in Beaver County. Kimberly was thinking of attending that pow wow. Well, then, I went jogging at Smithton, which is near Cedar Creek Park. Out of nowhere, a woman on a bicycle stopped me because she wished to chat with me about various things. This woman had just ridden through Cedar Creek Park and told me a pow wow was going on. This is how we found out about it. Kimberly then looked up the organization sponsoring the pow wow. The organization looked like a promising one for Kimberly to join. So we went to check out the pow wow.

I greatly love Cedar Creek Park. It is one of the places I jog at regularly. I really like the new trekkers campground. The pow wow was held right next to it. I enjoyed the pow wow and the dancing. I danced several of the dances. One thing I liked about this pow wow was more women drummers and singers. Anyway, Kimberly got to talk to the Lenape chief for one hour. They had a very good talk, and Kimberly feels this is the right group for her to join. I still felt more connected at the Thunder Mountain pow wow. I really love their land and what they've built there. However, I agree this new group is probably a better fit for Kimberly. I think this group is more active and that we will be able to maintain contact with the other Lenape around here through this group. It is also based in Westmoreland County close to my land in Rector and the places I like to frequent up that way.

I feel that I do have some Lenape blood. We were told as children that the Sharpnacks have a direct ancestor who was Indian. I couldn't figure it out, but I now have an idea where this came from. I have a sixth great grandfather who lived in this area before the Indians were chased out. He lived here when probably very few white women lived here. Also, from my readings, at that time it was very hard to marry a white woman before you were established economically. That's why older men in their 40's and 50's would marry a very young girl in her late teens. Younger men could not afford to marry. It probably was even harder when my 6th great grandfather lived here. He was killed by a Lenape woman. However, he had two young sons and they never mention who the mother was. This is a major clue that the mother was Indian. He would have been the great grandfather of the ancestor who married into the Sharpnack family.

For my part, I have gotten back into soto zen meditation. When I lived in San Francisco, I meditated and chanted with Hindus, but I could not find a group around Pittsburgh when I moved back, so eventually I meditated with a soto zen group. I have gotten back into this form of meditation. This will not interfere with me attending and worshipping at Sixth Presbyterian Church because this form of meditation can be added to one's faith and is not an impediment to any faith.