Braison Domingo here.  Hope this finds you well.

Sorry for not writing; have been busy helping out Grandfather and Grandmother with the younger kids.  This is when I wish I still had a father and a mother; Father died when I was little; as for my mother, she died when giving birth to my littlest brother, Benjie, who is now two-and-a-half.  I really miss her; in fact, I miss both Mother and Father very much.

Now they are in the Big Sky above, where they can keep watch over me and my family.  I feel comfort to know a piece of them remain with me; however, I can't help but feel a sense of sadness whenever I think about them.

Now it is soon to be the fourth of July.  That's only in two days.  I can't wait.  Grandfather and grandmother are going to take us kids to our city's annual Fourth of July doin's; there'll be plenty of food (hot dogs, hamboogers, jello salad, watermelon, Indian bread, brisket, sody-pop, etc.), music (Native and non-Native), contests and carnival rides for the kids, and a parade (that's in the morning, before it gets too hot).  It's going to be a lot of fun.  Even I'm taking part in the parade:  I'll be riding my bike; I will have it decorated, and it's gonna look real fancy!

And, perhaps, the best part of the whole deal:  the F I R E W O R K S!!!!  I LOVE the fireworks; Chickasha puts on a whizbang of a fireworks display; it's one of the best displays outside OkCity or Tulsa!  I LOVE fireworks!  This is when I wish I had  my sparklers, but darn, sparklers are not allowed:  our city's currently on a burn ban, and home-bought fireworks or sparklers are a big no-no.  Anyone caught with 'em will be arrested, more'n likely, thrown in jail.  So no sparklers for me.  Phooey!!

I did real good in school:  I passed.  That means I will be going into the fifth grade come September.  I am so proud of myself; I inherited Mother's brain-smarts; she was so smart she went to college, and she became a teacher; she taught up until a few days before she died while giving birth to Benjie. 

I really do miss her.  I get angry at Benjie because it was he who caused Mother to die; she didn't have to die on us, leave us like stranded cows!  I wish sometimes he'd never been born!  He's the biggest pain in my hide!!

He's a brat with a capital 'B'!!

I still want to be an artist, a doctor to Native people, or perhaps a writer.  I'd also like to be a teacher to people, teach 'em the Apache language.  (I speak both Apache and Arapaho in addition to English.  Have done so since I was really small; Mother and Father taught me.)

I am enjoying being out of school.  I hated doing the homework or having the teachers yell at us kids, or the teasing the non-native kids flung at me or the other Native kids.  The words hurt worse than stones or arrows, and a lot of the time, I or any number of my sisters would come home from school, in tears.  It was really awful!!  :(

Well, I hear Grandfather rising; he always gets up before first light or the sun.  Gotta make him his breakfast, get his coffee started.  I will write in here again soon; until then, this is Braison Running Bear saying so long!

~Braison.  :)