Indigenous

November 21, 1978: Baraga State Park, Baraga, Michigan, 12:03 am.

Gerry Brown Bear, a gangly, Native American man walks through the forest with a swift strut. There is no human activity at this hour. Just creatures of the animal variety. The stars paint the sky with an expansive fury. Different sounds fill the area but nothing foreign to the ears of Mister Brown Bear. Gerry made an excursion from the L'Anse Indian Reservation to try to see a meteorite or comet in the Michigan night skies.

Gerry has seen things in this forest that can’t easily be explained by science or nature. Gerry would never repeat what he’s seen in the civilian world. His culture gives way to the unexplained phenomenon. Gerry looks at the stars to see the majestic beauty of the universe.

Gerry makes his way through a half-frozen marsh buried in the middle of the forest. His moccasins are half moist and the rest is saturated in the dirt. Gerry hopes to see another unexplained occurrence to add to his list of stories. Maybe he could get a photo to sell.

The deeper in the State Park he goes, the spookier it can be, and fear begins to creep into Gerry’s being. Things go quiet. A bright red ball of fire burns a temporary impression into the night sky. The illuminated ball of debris crash lands into a small pond near the restroom area. Gerry is hit by a shockwave that renders Gerry unconscious. Electricity was out for a twenty-mile radius. No storms were recorded in the area. The only record of this event was a rolling blackout.

November 20, 2018: Highway 41, Alberta, Michigan, 3:28 pm

Gerry’s son John Brown Bear is driving his charcoal grey Mercedes Benz across the frozen tundra of Michigan. There is light snow, winter had yet to hit full blast, and John is trying to get back to Chicago for his corporate job. It’s been ten years since John made his way back to the L’Anse Reservation. John legally changed his last name to Morrison and tried to distance himself from his indigenous heritage. John felt that he couldn’t be taken seriously in his tech start-up with the last name of Brown Bear.

John was trying not to skid off Highway 41. Black ice is a nefarious hindrance that John was a victim of in the past. John was a teenager and he was trying to burn rubber in his Uncle Red Eagle’s 69 Super Sport Chevelle. October has vicious black ice because the lack of snow can be deceiving to the human eye. John barely missed a fast-approaching semi that nearly wrecked the muscle car.

John has many regrets about leaving Gerry behind. His mother died when in childbirth. He was an only child as well. John was an only child and he left Gerry in a helpless state. Distant relatives came by to check up on Gerry but for the most part, he was alone. This twinge of quilt hit John for the last ten years while he was in Chicago. John’s ambition and desire to infiltrate the mainstream kept him from being a full-time caregiver for his father. Gerry is suffering from the early stages of dementia. Gerry wonders through the L’Anse Reservation mumbling to himself. He has the stain of being the old eccentric, half crazy, half storyteller, and for the most part, the indigenous residents of L’Anse Reservation ignore Gerry.

John was told by one of his second cousins that Gerry walks on the frozen pond in the Baraga State Park. Luckily, some of the visitors to the State Park kept Gerry from drowning himself. Gerry tells everyone about the incident he experienced forty years ago. This incident created a rift between himself and Gerry. John is near his childhood home of the L’Anse Reservation.

L’Anse Reservation, Gerry Brown Bear’s Residence, 8:15 pm.

Gerry is going on and on about the red fireball that fell through the sky. It’s something that he can’t let go of. The Unidentified Flying Object was clear as day in Gerry’s eyes. This was before smartphones and he couldn’t get the image to validate his witness account. Gerry is still in great physical condition but John now feels that Gerry’s mental capacity is limited. John bought some food from the farmers market just outside of L’Anse Reservation.

John can’t have a coherent conversation with his father. Gerry is speaking in gibberish and parables. Gerry has no electricity or running water. John has to get all the water from a pump. The only thing keeping the place warm is an old cast iron stove that has been around longer than John. But the stove still works great.

John was used to using food delivery apps for food. He spent most of the day eating catered food at the office in Chicago. The only meal that John knew how to make was spaghetti. It was quick, cheap, and he was able to make his sauce. John learned this dish from his roommate in college Alberto Caruso an Italian exchange student from Naples. His recipe was foolproof and John used it when he didn’t want to spend money on food delivery apps.

John managed to get his dad to eat the meal which also featured fresh zucchini, corn, and tossed salad with extra virgin olive oil. Gerry ate in a ravenous assault sucking up piles of pasta. John took little bites. John contemplated putting his father in a nursing facility. It was a nagging decision that he avoided. But it would be dangerous to leave his father there in his condition. Fortunately, his dad was able to survive his impaired state while living alone.

John wanted to get some sleep but instead, he made sure Gerry got his rest after the colossal meal. Gerry slept soundly and snored profoundly. John’s childhood home was just like he remembered. It was barren except a peace pipe, a dream catcher that hangs over a window in the southwest direction of the house, and painted bullhead on a nightstand. John had misgivings about being back at the L’Anse Reservation and he longed to be back in Chicago.

John remembered the Native American folklore tale of the Thunderbird. This tale is prevalent in most Native American tribes as well as his own which is the great Chippewa People. John was told different variations of this tale. The Thunderbird was never seen but it was understood to be real. John just wrote it off as a wise tale.

John decided to sleep. John figured that his dad would be okay for now. It was in the back of his mind on what to do about his dad’s future care. John tried to sleep through this nagging concern.

John was awakened by a cold wind. The door to Gerry’s home was ajar. Gerry was gone. John quickly dressed in warm clothes then left promptly from the Reservation dwelling.

November 21, 2018: Baraga State Park, Baraga, Michigan, 11:50 pm.

Gerry was roaming around again in a stupor. He was making his way to the frozen pond near the rest area. Not much has changed in forty years. Gerry wanted to see what fell in the pond. Even if meant he drowned. He had to know. The events before this night consumed his full being. It was an obsession that drove him crazy.

John searched through Baraga State Park. His car didn’t get the chance to get warm and he was worried that it would stall on him. Those Michigan winters in the Upper Peninsula are extremely harsh. John raced out of the car with a flashlight. He searched screaming Gerry’s name. Then John spotted him.

Gerry was on a very thin sheet of ice on the frozen pond near the restroom facilities. Gerry stepped on the ice. Cracks begin to break over the ice on the frozen pond. Gerry walks over it like it’s solid ground. John runs frantically toward the pond. John screams toward Gerry to get off the pond. John doesn’t want to add to the weight on the ice. More cracks enumerate over the svelte sheet of ice. A vast sound of cracking ice spreads over the chilled pond. The ice implodes into the slushing subzero waters. Gerry goes under and John screams out for his father facing impending danger.

Gerry is fully submerged. John jumps into the arctic waters of the freezing pond. John fights off the bitterly cold water. John grabs the collar of Gerry’s shirt then pulls him up from beneath the frigid sea. John pulls Gerry above water. John swims frenetically toward the shoreline. Gerry keeps going under and is seconds from being fully submerged by the frosty water.

John strains with all his might then drags half of his dad’s body toward the shore. John gets himself outside of the ice-cold water. John then reaches into the pond to haul Gerry’s body toward the shore. John races toward his car to retrieve a blanket before his dad suffers from hypothermia. Then it comes.

The bright red explosion illuminates the sky once again. Gerry is unconscious and can’t partake in this magnificent sight. There is an eruption of light into a blazing inferno. Out of the inferno, it comes. A living Thunderbird with a 20 feet wingspan. It is straight from the Triassic Period. The heat from the explosion kept both John and Gerry warm and from dying from hypothermia. Just as soon as the Thunderbird appeared he was gone in less than five seconds. Electric power and with the forty-year upgrade of broadband internet access was out this time for a thirty-mile radius.

Two Days Later: Gerry’s Residence, 4:24 pm.

Gerry stopped talking altogether. Gerry went into a comatose state. He would be bedridden soon. The Doctor in the emergency room told John that Gerry would need around-the-clock care. John looked over his father while he was immobilized. John had to contemplate his future. He would have to leave his job back in Chicago. John would have to change his lifestyle. He has grown accustomed to gourmet food, designer clothes, a five-head shower system, and living in a condo on Lake Michigan.

John would have to give two weeks' notice. John figured it would be hard to find a job if he decided to go back to Chicago at a later time. John wouldn’t dare send his father to an assisted living facility. John decided to stay with his dad and devote himself to Gerry’s full-time care. It would be hard but it would be worth the time spending with his dad in his later years. That’s something he couldn’t get back, time.

John wanted to recollect about the Thunderbird he just witnessed two nights ago. Was it a dinosaur, a flying saucer, or a figment of his imagination? The power did go out. John did some research on his iPhone and there was a blackout during the sighting that Gerry had forty years ago. John felt bad that he did not believe his dad all these years. John felt a great connection to his dad. John firmly decided that he would take care of him. John would not discuss the Thunderbird incident with anyone, however. John didn’t want anyone to think that he was crazy.

John sat in his childhood home on top of the L’Anse Reservation. John would spend time on his land as an indigenous member of the Chippewa tribe. There is a saying that seeing the Thunderbird meant that a person would become chief of their tribe. John did not want to be a chief of his tribe. John just wanted to care for his elder father. Because in Native American culture the elders should be held in high reverence. John would hope that his ancestors would forgive him for not doing so till now.