I have succesfully made it through my tonsilectomy! I am at day 16 and beyond glad this whole mess is over. It went fairly well until a few days ago, when I started bleeding at Far Hills. I was with Billy and as I was spitting blood onto the desert floor I was thinking about the workers passing by in the morning. All they would see is a blood-strewn country side with nothing more than a ruined piece of paper with the name of clothing stores on it. Oh well, that's how it goes sometimes I guess. I thought that was the end of it but the next day I woke up gushing blood for twenty minutes so it was off to the doctor's for me. They said that it had clotted but if it were to bleed again I'd have to go to the emergency room and get surgery again, but it did not so I am finally done with it all! :D
Being bedridden definitely had its benefits though, as I got to read even more! I read The Day the World Ended at Little Bighonr by Joseph Marshall which was both imformative and depressing. For example,
"In the immediate moments after the defeaning blasts of artillery and rifle fire had stopped, the silence must have been utterly profound. The world has known far too many moments such as that, when the killing mercifully ends."
I thought one of the saddest aspects was how much respect the Lakotas showed to the white man, and how little they received in return. For instance, while the U.S. government referred to the Lakotas as "savages" and frequently called them "insane," the Lakota term for the white negotiaters was wolakotiye woglakapi, or "peacetalker." Even while the government was plotting to systematically destroy their culture, the Lakotas still saw the ultimate goal as peace.
I also got to watch Waking Life again with Billy and it seems like every time I watch it, different things resonate with me or I think I understand it more. On this particular viewing, I perceived the scene with the two men in the bar shooting each other to death as incredibly ironic. I think it would be interesting to lucid dream, and perhaps I will try to make that my next project.
