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  • From: Bunjov AT aol.com
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] Pokeweed and in the pokey
  • Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2008 23:08:11 EDT

Hi, Bob -

Yeah, I felt sorry, too...but it took a while.

The best friend I mentioned happened to be a Rosebud child whose parents had
been banned from the S.D. reservation because his father was a mean drunk.
When he and my son first hooked up, they were about 11. His mother eventually

got a job at Anheuser-Busch in Van Nuys, and they lived for almost a year in
a
van in the alley behind our apartment building. She was never able to get
into an apartment because her husband drank up her every paycheck.

I will admit that my thinking has always been colored by empathy, and some
kind of 'identification' issue and endless 'cloudy' memories that I'm not
sure
are even mine. Nothing gets my back up faster than disrespect for The
People...be they Navajo or Sioux or Hopi, or anything else. To me, they're
all "The
People".

The mom's name was Jenny, and she and my son developed a special
relationship - which I encouraged, because she was a really nice lady who
worked hard. I
used to do her taxes. They are the same family that took this same son with
them, at age 14, back to the reservation for a visit...and now he is a
computer geek who talks to trees. So do I. We're out here.

I did have to draw the line, though, when the boys would raid my freezer and
take all the meat downstairs to the family's BBQ set-up, and I would arrive
home from my second full-time job and be greeted by delicious aromas wafting
up from the alley while I had nothing to eat.

Years after I had moved to another part of the San Fernando Valley, my
downstairs buzzer would ring at 2 in the morning, and I'd switch the TV to
Channel
6, and I could see who was downstairs waiting to be buzzed in. It was always
the best friend - Barry - with no place to go, and always hungry.

He still wore his hair in the shoulder-length page-boy, and was always
appreciative of a good meal, a shower, and a change of clothes. He never grew

much, over the years, and was destined to be of short stature, big-boned, and

hefty. I figure the lack of exercise was from just standing around waiting to

see where his next meal was coming from.

Aside from the boys' 'escapades', he always treated me with the greatest
respect.
I had told him many years earlier that as long as I had a place, he'd have a
place.

I don't know where he is, but I wish him well. He'd be welcome here today.

Sandy
Mid-Mojave
I know there are websites that deal with Native American registries. I am
ashamed of myself that I've not taken the time to try and find him, and the
rest
of the family. They are special people from my past - and my past-past.



In a message dated 10/17/2008 7:12:29 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
bobford79 AT yahoo.com writes:

Sandy, 'sorry; I didn't notice that it was directed just to me; Yes it did
show up. And, I felt bad for your kid :) ....bobf


--- On Fri, 10/17/08, Bunjov AT aol.com <Bunjov AT aol.com> wrote:

> From: Bunjov AT aol.com <Bunjov AT aol.com>
> Subject: [Homestead] Fwd: Pokeweed
> To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Date: Friday, October 17, 2008, 8:04 PM
> Hi, Bob -
> I had meant this to go to the list, also - did it ever show
> up?
> Sandy
> Mid-Mojave
>
>
>
> ____________________________________
> From: Bunjov
> To: bobford79 AT yahoo.com
> Sent: 10/17/2008 5:21:41 P.M. Pacific Standard Time
> Subj: Re: [Homestead] Pokeweed
>
>
> They do indeed exist. I've priced them on Ebay and they
> go for a gazillion
> dollars. At one time I had a priceless collection of
> 45's, given to me by the
> owner of the local 'dive', who was a good friend.
> My youngest son and his best friend, in their mid-teens
> (experimenting with
> alcohol - or something!) decided to play Frisbee with
> oncoming traffic one
> midnight in the middle of Van Nuys Blvd.
> Needless to say, you can imagine his dismay when I let him
> rot in jail until
> his court date.
> Karma lives, and I'm it.
> Sandy
> Mid-Mojave
>
>
> In a message dated 10/17/2008 5:12:18 P.M. Pacific Standard
> Time,
> bobford79 AT yahoo.com writes:
>
> I remember the song, Sandy. On every jukebox (Do
> jukeboxes still exist?)
> I just googled to see what year the song came out and was
> made curious by
> the blurb about poke salad, which it said should be said
> "poke sallet" (from
> some old english word that means 'cooked' greens).
> I don't remember if people pronounced it one way or
> the other ...bobford
>
>
> --- On Fri, 10/17/08, Bunjov AT aol.com
> <Bunjov AT aol.com> wrote:
>
> > From: Bunjov AT aol.com <Bunjov AT aol.com>
> > Subject: [Homestead] Pokeweed
> > To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> > Date: Friday, October 17, 2008, 6:01 PM
> > There are photos and more information on the site.
> > Doesn't anyone remember
> > the song - maybe mid-seventies - "Poke Salad
> > Annie"?
> > Sandy
> > Mid-Mojave
> >
> > _http://www.altnature.com/gallery/pokeweed.htm_
> > (http://www.altnature.com/gallery/pokeweed.htm)
> >
> >
> > Pokeweed
> > Phytolacca americana
> > Other Names: Poke Salet, American Pokeweed,
> Cancer-root,
> > Cancer jalap,
> > Inkberry, Pigeon Berry, Pocan, Poke, Poke Root,
> Pokeberry,
> > Reujin D Ours,
> > Sekerciboyaci, Skoke, Virginian Poke,
> Yoshu-Yama-Gobo,
> > Yyamilin
> > Caution : Toxic when misused. For experienced
> herbalists
> > only. Can cause
> > intense vomiting and diarrhea.
> > Habitat
> > Pokeweed is a common perennial native plant, found
> in
> > Northern and Central
> > N. America from the New England States to Minnesota
> and
> > south to Florida and
> > Texas, naturalized in Britain and other countries.
> Growing
> > in damp rich soils
> > in clearings, woodland margins and roadsides.
> Cultivation:
> > Pokeweed is an
> > easily grown plant, succeeding in most soils and
> full sun
> > or partial shade. The
> > stout erect stalk is tall, growing to 10 feet or
> more,
> > smooth and branching,
> > turning deep red or purple as the berries ripen and
> the
> > plant matures. The
> > root is conical, large and fleshy, covered with a
> thin
> > brown bark. Leaves are
> > about 5 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide, simple,
> > alternate,
> > ovate-lanceolate, and smooth. The flowers which
> appear
> > from July to September are
> > long-stalked clusters and each has 5 whitish petals
> with
> > green centers. The fruit is a
> > rich deep purple round berry, containing a rich
> crimson
> > juice. Gather young
> > edible shoots in spring, the roots in fall, slice
> and dry
> > for later use, and
> > berries as they ripen.






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