Saturday, September 3, 1910
There was a knock on the door at the second floor apartment at Ewing and Sixth. Emily answered the door.
"Háu khola."
Running Bear laughed. "I don't even speak Siouan that well!"
"Running Bear and Mi-a-ga-awa? Rats! I practiced that name all day and I still got it wrong!"
Mindy laughed. "Don't worry, I can't even pronounce it. Call me Mindy."
She reached out to hug her.
Running Bear stuck out his hand. "Emily is it?"
She smiled and nodded.
"Very pleased to meet you." They shook hands.
"Will you come in?"
The couple stepped into the parlor.
When Lynn came out of her bedroom she saw a tall, handsome, broad shouldered man with thick, long, black hair and jade necklace. Mindy was a foot shorter and had her hair in a pony-tail. Both in their mid twenties.
"Hi! Lynn Watson."
Mindy hugged her as well. Running Bear shook her hand.
"I'm Running Bear. This is my wife, Mindy."
Lynn beamed. "It is such a thrill to meet you!"
"Likewise," said Running Bear.
Lynn motioned for them to sit on the couch. Emily pulled up a chair in front of the long coffee table.
Mindy said, "Nice place."
Lynn shook her head. "I know! Can you believe it? Two big bedrooms with walk-in closets, big bathtub, spacious parlor, kitchen with a fully stocked fridge, all the furniture we could need…"
Emily added, "And a phonograph! Our friends even gave us a bunch of records to enjoy."
"Ratty?" asked Running Bear with a raised eyebrow.
Lynn and Emily both nodded.
Mindy said, "We love a good rag! There's a spot down in Butte…."
"Spritzer's Dance Hall?"
Mindy whispered, "Twenty-one and over."
Emily cringed.
Lynn said, "Back to the apartment. We love everything about it."
Mindy smiled. "And it's free for as long as you work on the film."
Emily collapsed her shoulders. "I know, I know. I am still in heaven. These last few days have been a whirlwind."
Lynn said, "We arrived Friday about noon, exhausted. Secretary Swayze was nice enough to meet us with his big car. We arrived. He turned on all the lights and water and asked us if we needed anything else. We were fine, so he left."
"And then we slept!" said Emily with an exaggerated yawn.
Lynn guffawed, "Until our friends Jan and Karen decided to come over. Tour of the city, dinner, shopping, swimming, blabbing about boys and then back here at 10!"
Emily nodded. "And now it's…?" she looked at a kitchen clock. "9:45 am on Saturday and I've plumb forgot why we were ever here in the first place!"
Running Bear held up his hands. "You're here to eat ice cream! Let's go to Kruger's!"
Mindy grabbed his hand. "Nope, I think this all had something to do with…." She pantomimed cranking a movie camera.
"Boxing?" asked Running Bear with a monkey face.
"We're making a film about the entire state!" replied Mindy.
He replied, "Ok, that's a couple of hours work. What do you want to do next?"
Lynn guffawed, "I can already see this is going to be fun."
"And," Running Bear's tone became more serious. "A lot of work. But, from all reports, you, Lynn Watson, are thoroughly equipped for such an endeavor, and, I'll trust your judgment on Emily here."
Lynn was humbled. "I appreciate your confidence and I will strive to never let you down. That being said, I don't know the first thing about filmmaking."
Running Bear held Mindy's hand. They stood up.
"Girls, I can teach you 95% of filmmaking in less than a minute. Dearest wife, draw the shades."
Mindy pulled the shades, within a short period of time, the parlor was mostly dark.
He flipped off the light switch, the room became dark.
"Ok. What do you see?"
Lynn giggled, "Nothing."
He flipped the switch on. "And, now what do you see?"
Emily snickered, "Everything."
"The single most critical element of filmmaking: Light."
Mindy opened the shades.
He pointed at a coffee cup. The girls stared intensely.
He then signaled Mindy. She began doing a silly dance.
The girls laughed at her antics.
"The second most critical element of filmmaking: a compelling subject. This coffee cup means something to you because it contained a warm beverage, but Mindy's fandango is far more interesting."
Mindy stopped dancing and sat down.
"And that is 95% of filmmaking. If you don't have those two then the scripting, the technology, the production, all of that is utter rubbish. Got it?"
"Got it" replied Emily and Lynn.
Running Bear smiled. "Congratulations, you know more about filmmaking then my film students at Jennings."
"You went to Jennings?"
"History and Mass Communications, Class of 05. It’s where Mindy and I met. We were in the very first filmmaking class in Montana."
Mindy stood up. "Hey, I wonder." She looked out the window. "Nope. Not from here."
She turned to Emily and pointed. "Who has that room and can we go in it right quick?"
Emily raised her hand. "Me. The bed is unmade but other than that it's fine."
Mindy went towards the bedroom on the right.
"Sweetheart, look at this."
Mindy pointed out the window in Emily’s room. Emily could barely see a building in the distance with a white dome. "The love nest!" said Mindy in a reflective tone.
Running Bear explained, "It's what the Jennings alumni called the 4th floor of the Students Center. We used to… frequent it as students.”
They returned to the living room and retook their seats.
Running Bear said, "I was so proud when the governor accepted my original proposal. We would travel the state documenting the lives of ordinary Indians. I wanted to show… well… whites that we all didn't live in teepees and say, 'Ugh.' I wanted to demonstrate that we are part of the complex and magnificent rainbow of colors that make up Montana."
Emily smiled. "You sir are a poet."
"But then, he said, 'Why stop with Indians?' And I couldn't think of any legitimate response except, 'If we were making a film about other people wouldn't we need other people represented?' He agreed. 'I see what you mean. But whom shall I find to go with you?' I replied, 'Leave that to God.'"
Lynn and Emily looked at one another confused.
"Just because one is Sioux or Chippewa does not exclude them from being at the welcome table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
Lynn smiled. “I suppose it doesn't. It's just, well, back home we live near Sioux and Crow but I've never seen any in church."
Running Bear swished his mouth. "It's a big world out there, Ehawee."
Lynn was amazed. "You know my Sioux name?"
Mindy chimed in: "No magic powers involved, we read all about you in the newspapers. Speaking of which, how is Chapa?"
Lynn chuckled, "Jake is just fine." She sighed. "I miss him already. He's grown on me. I am the youngest child. My brothers and sister were so much older than me. Jake is like a fun connection to a time that I never really got to experience." She looked away wistfully. "But, enough of that let's talk about the journey."
Mindy shook her head. "Nah. Let's play Spades instead."
Running Bear agreed with her. "For now, let's get to know each other. We're going to be traveling the state so we need to find out now about our own little quirks. You can discover that about a person in an easier fashion by playing a game."
Emily shrugged. "I never thought of that way."
Lynn stood up and got the cards.
The two couples played Spades well into the afternoon. They laughed, told stories of home and honed their interaction skills. They quickly became inseparable friends.
