Just wondering.....where are we going....

Hey People! I am getting on a roll here this makes three in row and you know the saying, 'third time is a charm'!!!! We will see if that is the case here....

SO I was talking to this lady where I work and I said to her, 'you know this is going to offend you in so many ways but are you Navajo?' She is Native American and her tribe is Navajo. Now don't get me wrong the fact that the person I was talking to is Navajo was not offensive, I just thought the question would be offensive as most people don't like to discuss their heritage. I was hanging up a Navajo rug in my cubicle area and I wanted to confirm what I was told about the design on the rug. I asked was this symbol or design that of family? I told her that's what I was told when I bought the rug from this man who was selling it for his daughter who was trying to raise money for graduation. The lady told me she believed it was but she she couldn't say for sure. Then she said to me, "I should know more about my heritage but I don't, my grandma tried to teach us weaving and things like that but we would sit there for an hour and then we would take off. We didn't want to learn we just wanted to play outside and run around. I don't even know how to speak the language." She went on to tell me that each rug is different because the concept and design of the rug is what you the weaver create in your mind, you have to see the rug as you are making it and that's why no two are the same. WOW! I didn't know that, but that does explain why they are so different, and makes you wonder when you look at them how did they come up with that. I told her don't feel bad about not knowing your heritage, I am not that sure of mine. I am hoping Africa is in there somewhere and I have no doubt there is some White people in there as well. Sadly, there are a lot of things that should be passed down from generation to generation, that is falling by the way side, kids don't want to learn and parents don't have time to teach.

My mom won't teach me how to cook she says she doesn't use recipes, she does everything by taste and feel, so she can't write anything down for me AND she gets mad when I ask her to. SAD that things like your native language, cultural cooking and family stories aren't being passed onto the next generation. I am pretty sure there are some who will think this is a good thing and some who are fearful that we are slowing 'blending' into a melting pot of people of whose national origin you cannot differentiate. This could be a good thing or it could be a bad thing....GOOD that finally people are being seen as people and not Black people or White people, etc. but just PEOPLE! But the bad thing would be what is lost along the way like 'southern cooking', weaving baskets and rugs, making pasta and sauces, braiding hair and story telling.

We are all in such a hurry these days to get to where we are going....but I was just wondering...where are we going??!!!!

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie