----
Two Track
Our little two track was just fine
Now we have a wide bitter road to sink through
This green valley is split like nature's heart, broken in two
Progress is the folly, greed and guidance the architects
The wren and the elk don't know why and maybe it doesn't matter
Peace and space for us we pray, perhaps for our neighbors all
(c) 2008 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy (25 May)
14 September 2008
"All This for Her"
----
All This for Her
See the summer sumersault, on the butterfly towel
Blue pool on the the peeling deck for the son to follow
Swaying flowers and trees accompany the persistent wren
The grass so green it invites her down to play again
A creature of nature so pure, all of this for her
(c) 2008 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy (6 July)
All This for Her
See the summer sumersault, on the butterfly towel
Blue pool on the the peeling deck for the son to follow
Swaying flowers and trees accompany the persistent wren
The grass so green it invites her down to play again
A creature of nature so pure, all of this for her
(c) 2008 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy (6 July)
"See Red"
----
See Red
Walking the tracks
Don't look back
Your world is black
But you see red
(c) 2008 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy (6 July)
See Red
Walking the tracks
Don't look back
Your world is black
But you see red
(c) 2008 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy (6 July)
"I Remember (1)"
----
I Remember (1)
I remember the airport in Budapest, Hungary
Headed back to Moscow with more questions than answers
I had my remaining Forints to spend on nothing
The sense of leaving civilization, for some returning
Escape, loss, sadness, excitement and that fresh look of the airline
Slick pilots, flight attendants, chatting with one all the way to Moscow
I began to forget the wait at the Russian Consulate
The smug grins and whispers in a barely known language
And then there was ink on paper and I could go
Back to Moscow again
(c) 2007 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy
I Remember (1)
I remember the airport in Budapest, Hungary
Headed back to Moscow with more questions than answers
I had my remaining Forints to spend on nothing
The sense of leaving civilization, for some returning
Escape, loss, sadness, excitement and that fresh look of the airline
Slick pilots, flight attendants, chatting with one all the way to Moscow
I began to forget the wait at the Russian Consulate
The smug grins and whispers in a barely known language
And then there was ink on paper and I could go
Back to Moscow again
(c) 2007 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy
"Never There Paul, Never There"
----
Never There Paul, Never There
It was the stuff of legends at 12 years.
I was short. I was skinny. I was not what you would call a fighter.
I never wanted to disappoint my parents with a schoolyard brawl.
So I turned the other cheek, I always walked away.
Until that day, a day that was almost over.
Last class, physical education down on Ford Field.
We were playing flag football on those fertile grounds.
It was time to head back to the school.
I was turning to go and there he was, football in hand.
Paul. He made a joke and showed me the football.
I don't remember anything after that.
Until I came to in a blurry rage, sitting on top of Paul.
Fists flying.
On Paul's face and body.
My friends told me they looked back and there I was.
On top of the bully Paul.
Paul had thrown the ball.
Paul had thrown the ball at my 12 year old family jewels.
I guess I had had enough.
I knew then my parents wouldn't really be disappointed.
I remember my friends faces clearly.
Mouths open, eyes staring.
Not the same skinny kid.
Never there Paul, never there.
(c) 2007 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy
Never There Paul, Never There
It was the stuff of legends at 12 years.
I was short. I was skinny. I was not what you would call a fighter.
I never wanted to disappoint my parents with a schoolyard brawl.
So I turned the other cheek, I always walked away.
Until that day, a day that was almost over.
Last class, physical education down on Ford Field.
We were playing flag football on those fertile grounds.
It was time to head back to the school.
I was turning to go and there he was, football in hand.
Paul. He made a joke and showed me the football.
I don't remember anything after that.
Until I came to in a blurry rage, sitting on top of Paul.
Fists flying.
On Paul's face and body.
My friends told me they looked back and there I was.
On top of the bully Paul.
Paul had thrown the ball.
Paul had thrown the ball at my 12 year old family jewels.
I guess I had had enough.
I knew then my parents wouldn't really be disappointed.
I remember my friends faces clearly.
Mouths open, eyes staring.
Not the same skinny kid.
Never there Paul, never there.
(c) 2007 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy
"Requiem: Death is a Friend to Some"
----
Requiem: Death is a Friend to Some
Rock, gravel, dirt, sand, sweat
A hole in the ground we met
You acquiesed
You travelled
See the milky white way
See the red road
Leave the human tide
Brother by my side
You move past
We move past
We shall love at last
(c) 2008 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy (9 Aug)
Requiem: Death is a Friend to Some
Rock, gravel, dirt, sand, sweat
A hole in the ground we met
You acquiesed
You travelled
See the milky white way
See the red road
Leave the human tide
Brother by my side
You move past
We move past
We shall love at last
(c) 2008 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy (9 Aug)
"Death is a Friend to Some"
----
Death is a Friend to Some
Death is friend to some
He comes welcomed
He comes a saviour
Perhaps he will be my friend
Now he is merely the taker
He may be wished for
I only feel more pain for them
All who are unprepared for the journey
I am powerless to this force
I watch as he comes for his next visit
We are all so unhappy
That is our human state
But death comes as a friend to some
(c) 2008 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy (2 Aug - for my brother Kermit Red Dog)
Death is a Friend to Some
Death is friend to some
He comes welcomed
He comes a saviour
Perhaps he will be my friend
Now he is merely the taker
He may be wished for
I only feel more pain for them
All who are unprepared for the journey
I am powerless to this force
I watch as he comes for his next visit
We are all so unhappy
That is our human state
But death comes as a friend to some
(c) 2008 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy (2 Aug - for my brother Kermit Red Dog)
"Meet at the Car Wash"
----
Meet at the Car Wash
One man, one woman
Once husband, once wife
Two vans, open hands
Open hearts, closed minds
An exchange of life
He clings to her
He reaches out
He cries, they part
He cries, they wait
He cries, they hesitate
Two lives, he cries
One family, once family
Family still
They part at last
For today, at the car wash
(c) 2008 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy (12 Sep)
Meet at the Car Wash
One man, one woman
Once husband, once wife
Two vans, open hands
Open hearts, closed minds
An exchange of life
He clings to her
He reaches out
He cries, they part
He cries, they wait
He cries, they hesitate
Two lives, he cries
One family, once family
Family still
They part at last
For today, at the car wash
(c) 2008 S. Sarkozy-Banoczy (12 Sep)
08 September 2008
"The Cheyenne River Youth Project and the Grinch Who Brought Christmas (and a whole lot more)"
----
The Cheyenne River Youth Project and the Grinch Who Brought Christmas (and a whole lot more)
By Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy
(originally published in Native Legacy magazine, Summer 2008 - http://www.nativelegacymag.com/crst.html)
Let me start with a short story. I am the Grinch. Or I was.
That is, I have had the pleasure of playing that reformed Whoville Christmas thief for the benefit of others. The others being: the children of the Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP), in the midst of Christmas celebrations.
I somehow found myself volunteering to the play the Grinch during our annual Christmas party eight or nine years ago. It was humbling.
The costume, including a full plastic head mask, was hot, hilarious and difficult to see out of. The kids of all sizes got to choose the Grinch or Santa to tell their Christmas wishes to and I was quite surprised how popular the Grinch was. I began to feel more dignified playing Santa’s less popular sidekick.
Then at some point during the festivities, Santa (played by Mike Kennedy, another local volunteer) decided that all the children present should be told to teach the Grinch a lesson for trying to steal Christmas. This Grinch, my Grinch. You know this is not going to be pretty.
Picture a six foot, one-inch Grinch, with a full set of red pajamas, boots and an oversized Grinch head running for his life out of the building, down Main Street, around the block, with a pack of high-minded children, prepared for vengeance. We were not in Whoville anymore. Needless to say, I put some distance between my Grinch self and the kids. I then pitched the mask and pajamas and cowered back in the kitchen for most of the evening while the rest of the presents were handed out and we all ate. I still have nightmares.
But would I do it again? Of course. And I have. It is for the kids. As a long-time volunteer, fan, and for the past few years, board of directors member of CRYP, (also known locally as ‘The Main’ for its original location in an old bar on main street in Eagle Butte), these are the kinds of events that bring people together again and again.
CRYP is famous for events that touch the lives of children in more positive ways than can sometimes be accounted for. Grinch beatings aside, CRYP has changed the fabric of life in Eagle Butte and the Cheyenne River Reservation. As the 20th anniversary approaches I think about all the hundreds and thousands of small memories, stories and life-altering moments that have occurred because of this stable, dynamic organization.
From those humble beginnings on Main Street and in the mind and heart of founder and current Executive Director, Julie Garreau, CRYP has blossomed into a powerhouse of programming for the youth of Eagle Butte and the Cheyenne River Reservation.
From the day-to-day offerings for younger children like reading, arts and after school activities, to the newly completed teen center, CRYP continues to nurture the lives of young people of the reservation. One week it might be midnight basketball or a camping trip, the next it might be passion for fashion, work in the garden or courses at the “Main University”.
When I remember helping move boxes around the dark, damp areas of the old bar that was the first home for CRYP, it is hard to believe how much it has grown and changed.
The first major step was the new building for “the Main” christened as the Billy Mills Youth Center, located up by the Elderly Nutrition and the community garden. It is here that those first new blossoms appeared.
The new building offered expanded kitchens, art/workrooms, library/reading room, and a place to actually have volunteer quarters and offices. I remember thinking how huge it all looked. And the kids thought so too. After school, weekend and summer activities exploded at the new site. And yet, there was something missing.
For years, the teens had been saying they needed a place of their own. CRYP listened. With direct input from teenagers in Eagle Butte and surrounding communities, the awe inspiring Cokata Wiconi Teen Center came to be. Now there truly is “something for everyone” – from a full gym, internet café, dance studio and art room, to a library, computer room and gift shop – next to nothing on the wish list for the teens was left off.
This new building is truly theirs by design. There is a weight room, full locker rooms, professional kitchen, volunteer quarters, meeting rooms and more to round out the ability to serve the teens of the reservation. With input from elders and teens alike, a Cheyenne River history wall has been formed. Down the long center hallway, with walls curved and tiles colored to represent the flow of Wakpa Waste, the Cheyenne River, teens and visitors can follow the story of the Four Bands of the Cheyenne River Lakota and their relations from the beginning of time to the modern era. This is a new home for teenagers – a home they helped create.
As funds and staffing allow, CRYP will expand the activities at the Billy Mills Youth Center and the Cokata Wiconi Teen Center. They will continue to run the two youth centers, the community garden and all the family and youth programs and services. Familiar activities will continue, like the Christmas Toy Drive and Delivery, Teen Night, Main University, Literacy, College Night, the Children’s Garden, etc. New to the mix this summer are paid internships in the areas of social entrepreneurship, mental health, wellness, arts, literacy and sustainable development as part of the new Power of Four Program.
CRYP continues to seek out new and exciting ways to have a positive presence in the lives of youth and I can only imagine what that next step might be.
Back to the Grinch for a moment. Like many tellers of tales, I like to start with something unique or humorous to drive home a point or get the reader’s attention. I hope it did that and I guess if you are reading this, you made it through the whole article without too much suffering. My Grinch story has a serious side though too. I may joke about my escapades (and eventual escape) from the kids, but what lives on in my mind’s eye is the love and happiness in the faces of those children – from the smallest toddler with wonder in her eyes at the site of Santa, to the curious and mischievous ten year old staring at the Grinch. Like so many other activities of the Cheyenne River Youth Project, that Christmas party with the presents, games and food, offered something positive (and potentially life-changing) to children and families of Eagle Butte and the reservation.
There’s a Grinch costume waiting for all of us.
The Cheyenne River Youth Project and the Grinch Who Brought Christmas (and a whole lot more)
By Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy
(originally published in Native Legacy magazine, Summer 2008 - http://www.nativelegacymag.com/crst.html)
Let me start with a short story. I am the Grinch. Or I was.
That is, I have had the pleasure of playing that reformed Whoville Christmas thief for the benefit of others. The others being: the children of the Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP), in the midst of Christmas celebrations.
I somehow found myself volunteering to the play the Grinch during our annual Christmas party eight or nine years ago. It was humbling.
The costume, including a full plastic head mask, was hot, hilarious and difficult to see out of. The kids of all sizes got to choose the Grinch or Santa to tell their Christmas wishes to and I was quite surprised how popular the Grinch was. I began to feel more dignified playing Santa’s less popular sidekick.
Then at some point during the festivities, Santa (played by Mike Kennedy, another local volunteer) decided that all the children present should be told to teach the Grinch a lesson for trying to steal Christmas. This Grinch, my Grinch. You know this is not going to be pretty.
Picture a six foot, one-inch Grinch, with a full set of red pajamas, boots and an oversized Grinch head running for his life out of the building, down Main Street, around the block, with a pack of high-minded children, prepared for vengeance. We were not in Whoville anymore. Needless to say, I put some distance between my Grinch self and the kids. I then pitched the mask and pajamas and cowered back in the kitchen for most of the evening while the rest of the presents were handed out and we all ate. I still have nightmares.
But would I do it again? Of course. And I have. It is for the kids. As a long-time volunteer, fan, and for the past few years, board of directors member of CRYP, (also known locally as ‘The Main’ for its original location in an old bar on main street in Eagle Butte), these are the kinds of events that bring people together again and again.
CRYP is famous for events that touch the lives of children in more positive ways than can sometimes be accounted for. Grinch beatings aside, CRYP has changed the fabric of life in Eagle Butte and the Cheyenne River Reservation. As the 20th anniversary approaches I think about all the hundreds and thousands of small memories, stories and life-altering moments that have occurred because of this stable, dynamic organization.
From those humble beginnings on Main Street and in the mind and heart of founder and current Executive Director, Julie Garreau, CRYP has blossomed into a powerhouse of programming for the youth of Eagle Butte and the Cheyenne River Reservation.
From the day-to-day offerings for younger children like reading, arts and after school activities, to the newly completed teen center, CRYP continues to nurture the lives of young people of the reservation. One week it might be midnight basketball or a camping trip, the next it might be passion for fashion, work in the garden or courses at the “Main University”.
When I remember helping move boxes around the dark, damp areas of the old bar that was the first home for CRYP, it is hard to believe how much it has grown and changed.
The first major step was the new building for “the Main” christened as the Billy Mills Youth Center, located up by the Elderly Nutrition and the community garden. It is here that those first new blossoms appeared.
The new building offered expanded kitchens, art/workrooms, library/reading room, and a place to actually have volunteer quarters and offices. I remember thinking how huge it all looked. And the kids thought so too. After school, weekend and summer activities exploded at the new site. And yet, there was something missing.
For years, the teens had been saying they needed a place of their own. CRYP listened. With direct input from teenagers in Eagle Butte and surrounding communities, the awe inspiring Cokata Wiconi Teen Center came to be. Now there truly is “something for everyone” – from a full gym, internet café, dance studio and art room, to a library, computer room and gift shop – next to nothing on the wish list for the teens was left off.
This new building is truly theirs by design. There is a weight room, full locker rooms, professional kitchen, volunteer quarters, meeting rooms and more to round out the ability to serve the teens of the reservation. With input from elders and teens alike, a Cheyenne River history wall has been formed. Down the long center hallway, with walls curved and tiles colored to represent the flow of Wakpa Waste, the Cheyenne River, teens and visitors can follow the story of the Four Bands of the Cheyenne River Lakota and their relations from the beginning of time to the modern era. This is a new home for teenagers – a home they helped create.
As funds and staffing allow, CRYP will expand the activities at the Billy Mills Youth Center and the Cokata Wiconi Teen Center. They will continue to run the two youth centers, the community garden and all the family and youth programs and services. Familiar activities will continue, like the Christmas Toy Drive and Delivery, Teen Night, Main University, Literacy, College Night, the Children’s Garden, etc. New to the mix this summer are paid internships in the areas of social entrepreneurship, mental health, wellness, arts, literacy and sustainable development as part of the new Power of Four Program.
CRYP continues to seek out new and exciting ways to have a positive presence in the lives of youth and I can only imagine what that next step might be.
Back to the Grinch for a moment. Like many tellers of tales, I like to start with something unique or humorous to drive home a point or get the reader’s attention. I hope it did that and I guess if you are reading this, you made it through the whole article without too much suffering. My Grinch story has a serious side though too. I may joke about my escapades (and eventual escape) from the kids, but what lives on in my mind’s eye is the love and happiness in the faces of those children – from the smallest toddler with wonder in her eyes at the site of Santa, to the curious and mischievous ten year old staring at the Grinch. Like so many other activities of the Cheyenne River Youth Project, that Christmas party with the presents, games and food, offered something positive (and potentially life-changing) to children and families of Eagle Butte and the reservation.
There’s a Grinch costume waiting for all of us.
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