9 Council Bluffs
Call of the Wild is an exciting story, but it wasn’t the right selection for the ride up to Council Bluffs. Hearing about good old Buck being kidnapped and shipped off to Alaska for life as a sled dog deepened my funk. It brought back memories of being drafted and shipped off to Vietnam. Buck was harnessed to a sled with more experienced dogs to learn how to be a good sled dog. I spent my first day in Nam filling sandbags under a blistering equatorial sun — a quick introduction to my new life. True, I’d rather fill sandbags in tropical heat than pull sleds in the frozen north. But it’s not a fond memory.
The monument at Council Bluff honors the first meeting between Lewis and Clark and Native American leaders. That historic encounter took place across the river and a few miles downstream. Jefferson had ordered the captains to set up friendly contacts with the Indians, so he could get off on the right foot with them. Lewis decided to take a break and look for some Indians when the expedition was about three months into the journey. His scouts located a village, but it was empty. The inhabitants were out hunting buffalo.
The Discovery corps moved a few miles up the river to what is now Omaha, Nebraska, and tried again. This time they successfully connected with the Otoe. The following day, Lewis and Clark and their interpreters met with minor chiefs. Lewis gave a long speech. His audience probably ignored most of it. They had been dealing with the English, French, and Spanish as long as they could remember. They were only interested in what this new group of white people was going to do for them.
Captain Lewis was convinced the meeting was a success. He believed the Indians were impressed with American technology and were happy the Americans were taking over. But the Native Americans didn’t act like the meeting was that important. When Lewis and Clark showed up at their village, they were gracious and accommodating, but they didn’t arrange for a meeting with the top guys. They served refreshments and talked shop.
Lewis made speeches. The Indians listened politely and then went on about their business. They wanted to trade pelts for the white man’s goods – metal utensils and guns. It did not matter whether the white men were English, French, Spanish, or American. Sovereignty was the critical issue. The Whites said the land was theirs. The Indigenous peoples had fought wars to establish their claims to the land.
Lewis and Clark did not understand any of this. They knew nothing about the lives of the Plains Indians or the sophisticated politics of the region. The captains were not qualified to act as emissaries of the United States. The result was an abysmal failure on the part of the Discovery Corps.
Kate and I toured the memorial before taking a seat on a bench with a view of the river and the woodland on the banks.
“I have a question,” Kate said. I turned to look at her. She kept her eyes straight ahead, focused on a spot across the river. “What did you and Anne fight about?”
“We didn’t.”
“All married couples fight.”
“We didn’t. Anne was too smart. She got what she wanted without fighting.”
Kate suddenly turned to look at me. “She wore the pants in your house? Come on, Mac.”
“It wasn’t like that. We got along fine. We took care of each other. But she knew how to deal with people. Especially me.”
“Still sounds like she had you under her thumb.”
“I see your point, but that doesn’t sound like us.” I looked around, trying to find the right words. “I’ve read that the problem in marriage is getting two adults with different goals and agendas to work together.” I waited for her comeback, but Kate just watched me with that laser stare. “There are three ways it can work,” I said. “He dominates, and she goes along. She dominates, and he goes along. Or they figure out how to negotiate and compromise.” I took a deep breath and let the air out slowly. “My recollection is that we compromised. And I’m pretty sure that was because of Anne.”
Kate mumbled, “I suppose.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“I’m jealous. You were married forty years, and you’re still in love with her.” Her lip curled into a sneer. “I can’t even get a relationship to last a year.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She shook her head. “Tell me something about Anne.”
I looked up at the clouds floating lazily overhead as I leafed through my memories. “Ever read Cheaper by the Dozen?”
“Hasn’t everybody?”
“I couldn’t say for sure,” I chuckled, “but I doubt that most people have read it. Anyway, it was Anne’s bible. Lillian Gilbreth was her hero.”
“You only had two children.”
“Anne decided two was a good number. She had her tubes tied after our Ann was born.”
“Her decision or a negotiation?”
“She told me what she was going to do. As I recall the discussion, it came down to: I didn’t have to carry them, and I didn’t have to raise them, but I would have to pay for college.”
“So, you went along.”
“I would have gone along anyway. I could see all of that without her telling me. My only question was whether she was sure that’s what she wanted.”
“As opposed to you getting a vasectomy?”
“Never came up. I suppose I would have agreed to it, but it wouldn’t have changed anything.”
“It would have been your body instead of hers.”
“Over the years, she sometimes regretted her decision. Just a passing whim. She would have had the same regrets if I was the one who couldn’t deliver.”
“You didn’t have any regrets?”
“Naw. Kids are a lot of work and a lot of trouble. I’m glad we had two, but I didn’t need any more. It’s different for women. They see a little baby and imagine how nice it would be to have one of their own.”
Kate grimaced and shook her head. I wanted to hear about her issues. She didn’t want to open up, so I ambushed her. “What’s wrong with Eddie?”
“Nothing. Why?’
“You said you dated him. I figured there must be something wrong with him, or you would have married him.”
She glared. “You sound like my parents. “Why aren’t you married? You’re gonna end up a lonely old spinster.’”
“I’m sorry. It was just an observation about two people I kinda like.”
She calmed down a notch, but I could still hear the anger in her voice. “He’s busy. I’m busy. And there’s no reason for us to get married.”
I nodded. “That’s true. However, I will say as someone who has been married most of his life: the plusses outweigh the minuses.”
“You were lucky.”
“And you’re not?”
“I’ve had some bad luck.”
“For instance?”
Kate tensed and turned to look off into the distance. She shook her head. “The last guy put me in the hospital.”
“How bad?”
“They carried me in on a stretcher. I had a concussion, two broken ribs, and a punctured lung. I had to drop out of nursing school while I recovered.”
“I guess that would sour me on dating.”
She sneered, “Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you go back to school? That’s what I would have done.”
“How would you know?”
“I was a senior in college when I got the draft notice ordering me to report for duty. I spent a year in Vietnam. All I wanted to do when I got out was finish my degree.”
“I planned to go back. I was working at the VA hospital in D.C. when it happened. My family got me to move to St. Louis with Jimmy to get away from the guy. I started working at St. Elizabeth’s and never got around to going back to school.”
We sat and stared at the lush, green foliage along the river. I kept thinking about this beautiful young woman wasting her life. A couple of miles away, a great young guy was whiling away his days on busy work. I wanted them to get together and make a life for themselves.
“So why would you just drop everything and take off on a wild-goose chase with a total stranger?” I wondered out loud.
“I told you. I needed a change. You needed help. So why not?”
“For a hundred dollars a day? You could be making a lot more than that.”
She laughed. “I’m not doing this for the money, Mac.”
“Why are you doing it?”
“I like you. I’ve liked you from the moment I laid eyes on you. I might even be in love with you.”
“A little late for that.” I shook my head. “I had a good run with Anne. I’m not looking for a new Mrs. MacGregor.”
“Got it. I’m not looking for anything. I’m just telling you how I feel.”
That was a perfect example of what’s wrong with women. They can’t just say “Yes” or “Okay.” They have to throw in one more point. They have to get that last word.
“You should be looking for a young guy,” I said. “Someone who can make you happy.”
“I’ve found a guy who makes me happy. He’s an irascible old Scot.”
“Who’s pretty near dead.”
“But you aren’t waiting for it to come and get you. You’re fighting for every last minute.” She smiled at me. “Those others, the ones at St. Elizabeth’s, only have a short time, but they don’t know what to do with it.” She took my hand and kissed it. “We have had more adventure in the last couple of days than some people have in their entire lives.”
I kissed her hand back. “You know. I might be in love with you.”
She laughed. I said, “Do you think it might be time to get back on the road?”
“Probably.”
Kate was on her feet in one effortless move. I needed her help to get off the bench. As we walked back to the camper, I tentatively put my arm around her waist. She pretended not to notice. I said, “You know what would have happened if we had met twenty years ago?”
She shook her head. “No. What?”
“Nothing. I was married to Anne.”
“And I was chasing high school jocks. I didn’t have time for old married guys.”